With the official announcement yesterday of Assistant Coach Orlando Antigua returning to Illini Basketball, as the new Associate Head Coach, we now re-publish our two part exclusive with him, from 2017 Media Day. Part one can be found here
If you have not seen the John Calipari ESPN 30 for 30 film โOne and Not Done.” I strongly suggest you check it out.ย โI thought they did a solid job of trying to encapsulate Calโs history,โ said Illini basketball assistant coach Orlando Antigua, Calipariโs assistant coach for six seasons.
โItโs hard to try to capture all that Cal is, someone as complicated.โ
Antigua joined the Memphis staff of John Calipari in 2008-09, and then moved with Coach Cal to Kentucky from 2009-2014.
Like George Washington told Alexander Hamilton in the more popular than pizza and sunsets combined musical Hamilton: โIโm gonna need a right hand man.โ
Last April we interviewed โOne and Not Doneโ Director Jonathan Hock (audio and transcripts here), after doing an advanced screening review of the film (read that here).
At Illini basketball Media Day, we wanted to get Antiguaโs take on the documentary.
โItโs always hard, there are always a lot of things that are up for speculation, and people that donโt really know Cal, donโt know his heart, how much he cares for his players, his staff, their families and how hard he works at being one of the best to ever do it- heโs a hall of fame coach,โ said Antigua who was obviously a big part of the action when the camerasโ red lights were on.
With John Calipari, there is a ton of ground to cover, and opinions about the Kentucky coach are mixed, but always very strong among the populace; or as we call it, polarizing.
โIt can be hard to encapsulate as you say, polarizing, he can be polarizing to some folks, he can be a lighting rod to others. Heโs a guy thatโs passionate about life, his craft, and about the people who are in his life,โ Antigua continued.
The man who coached the Dominican Republic national team agrees that Calipari is a trail blazer, and was indeed ahead of his time in going with the recruiting one and done level players.
Antigua helped John Calipari land five straight number one ranked recruiting classes, which resulted in three Final Fours and the 2012 National Championship.
โHe was smart enough to figure out how to utilize a rule that not all college coaches were excited about, but in his Cal way he figure out a way to encourage kids to chase their dreams and put em in a position if the right information came back that allowed them to be in that position,โ opined the first Latin-American Harlem Globetrotter in history.ย
โAnd as you can see heโs been able to continue that over the years.โ
Antigua added that Hock, who he’s collaborated with for the director’s previous projects ย is in โan expert in his field,โ a โgood man,โ and a โgreat producer.โย Hock said during our interview that a member of his production crew goes way back with Antigua, knowing him since childhood.
Named the top assistant coach in the country under 40 by ESPN.com in 2012, the Wildcats compiled a 152-37 record during his tenure, highlighted by three Final Four appearances and culminating in the 2012 NCAA Championship.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor ofย The Sports Bank.ย Heโs also theย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ andย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
He currently contributes toย Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMGโs NFL Wire Networkย and theย Internet Baseball Writers Association of America.ย His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated,ย Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times.ย You can follow himย onย Twitter.
