Orlando Antigua
Orlando Antigua (born February 20, 1973)
Current position: Associate head men’s basketball coach
Current team: Illinois Fighting Illini (Head coach: Brad Underwood)
Current conference: Big Ten Conference
Teams coached: South Florida Bulls
South Florida record: 23-55 (.295)
Overall record: 23-55 (.295)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
Awards:
- USBWA Most Courageous Award (1994)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2024-present | Illinois (assoc. HC) |
| 2021-2024 | Kentucky (assoc. HC) |
| 2017-2021 | Illinois (asst) |
| 2014-2017 | South Florida |
| 2009-2014 | Kentucky (asst) |
| 2008-2009 | Memphis (asst) |
| 2006-2008 | Pittsburgh (asst) |
Orlando Antigua Facts
- Orlando Antigua
- Born February 20, 1973
- Hometown: Bronx, New York
- Alma Mater: University of Pittsburgh (BS, 1995)
- Born in the Dominican Republic to a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother
- Survived a drive-by shooting in the Bronx in 1988, during which he was shot in the head
- Later honored in 1994 (while at Pitt) with the USBWA Most Courageous Award
- Played four seasons, two as captain, for the Pittsburgh Panthers under head coaches Paul Evans & Ralph Willard
- Spent his college summers playing in Puerto Rican basketball league (BSN)
- Represented the Dominican Republic National Basketball Team in 1998 Olympic qualifying play
- Became first Hispanic player for the Harlem Globetrotters, playing seven years (nicknamed “Hurricane”)
- First coaching job was as an assistant at Mt. Lebanon High School (PA)
- Spent five years on Jamie Dixon‘s staff at Pittsburgh followed by six assisting John Calipari at both Memphis and Kentucky
- Served as the head coach of the Dominican Republic National Basketball Team from 2013-2015
- Was head coach at South Florida for two and a half years, going 23-55 over that tenure
- Fired during the 2016-17 season amid a potential recruiting scandal
- Hired in April 2017 as an assistant on Brad Underwood‘s first staff at Illinois; worked with the Illini for four seasons
- Left Illinois in May 2021 to reunite with Calipari as associate head coach at Kentucky, spending three years in that role
- Returned to Illinois in April 2024 to become Underwood‘s associate head coach
Orlando Antigua Coaching Tree
- Murry Bartow (UCLA, South Florida)
- Nick Giard (Kalamazoo College)
- Gerald Gillion (Chicago State)
- Donnie Marsh (Alabama A&M)
- Rod Strickland (LIU)
