Orlando Radhames Antigua Fernández (born February 20, 1973), nicknamed "Hurricane", is a former Dominican-American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and is currently an assistant coach at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

under John Calipari. He is widely known as becoming the first

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

and the first non-

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player for the Harlem Globetrotters in 52 years when he signed in 1995. After his retirement from playing professional basketball he was named an assistant coach for the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...

, the

Memphis Tigers The Memphis Tigers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Memphis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the American Athletic C ...

, the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

and the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...

. In 2014, he was named the head coach of South Florida, which he held until 2017. He is also the head coach of the

Dominican Republic national basketball team The Dominican Republic national basketball team ( es, Selección de Baloncesto de República Dominicana) represents the Dominican Republic in men's international basketball competitions. In 2011 and 2012, John Calipari, the head coach of the Un ...

Early years

Antigua was born in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

to a Dominican father and Dominican mother. The family moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and lived in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

where he was raised. There Antigua and his two siblings received their primary and secondary education. He attended St. Raymond's High School, where he played basketball. On Halloween night in 1988, Antigua became the victim of a drive-by shooting and was shot in the head near his left eye. He recovered from the shooting, however the doctors were unable to retrieve the slug from his head. He was back playing basketball just two months after the incident and gained media attention as the kid who'd taken a bullet to the head in a drive-by in his rough Bronx neighborhood. During this period of his life Antigua's family also went through a period of homelessness. He kept the family together while housing was secured. He overcame these difficulties and went on to serve as student council president at his high school and played a major role in the program's New York Catholic League Championship run under head coach Gary DeCesare. As a senior, he earned All-New York City and Parade All America Second Team honors. Antigua also played on the Gauchos youth basketball team. He caught the attention of various scouts during his high school playing days and was signed with the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

Pittsburgh Panthers

From 1991 to 1995 Antigua played basketball for the University of Pittsburgh Panthers basketball team. Antigua's performance during his freshman (Big East All-Rookie Team) and sophomore years under coach Paul Evans contributed to an appearance in the NIT ( National Invitation Tournament) second round, and an NCAA tournament berth the season after. Antigua was named the recipient of the United States Basketball Writers' Association (USBWA) Most Courageous Award in 1994, an honor presented annually to an individual associated with college basketball who displays exceptional courage both on and off the floor. As a member of the Panthers, Antigua ranks 11th all-time in career 3-pointers made (117) and sixth in career 3-point field goal percentage (.386). He also ranks among the school's career leaders in blocked shots with 78, the 12th best total in Panthers history.

Basketball in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic

Antigua was able to play basketball in the Puerto Rican and Dominican basketball leagues because of his parents' Puerto Rican and Dominican roots. During his college years he would spend summers from 1991 to 1993 playing for the Gigantes de Carolina (Carolina Giants), a team in the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. The Baloncesto Superior Naci ...

(BSN). Antigua averaged 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 1991, 10.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 1992, and 8.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 1993. During one summer, while Antigua was playing in Puerto Rico, he began to suffer from severe ear pain. He thought he had an infection from being at the beach, but it turned out that the bullet that was lodged in his head had moved down into his ear canal. Surgeons removed the bullet and Antigua has not experienced any pain associated with the injury since. Antigua continued to play for Carolina in 1996 and 1997 and averaged a career-high 16.8 points in 1997. He ended his professional playing career in 2002 with Mets de Guaynabo. In 1998, Antigua played for the Dominican Republic national team, which came close to representing the country in the Olympics and World championships for the first time in the history of its program. The team, however fell short in the qualifications. Among his teammates were fellow BSN player Franklyn Western, of the

Vaqueros de Bayamón The Vaqueros de Bayamón are a Puerto Rican basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The Vaqueros play their home games at Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum, a venue shared with the L ...

(Bayamon Cowboys) and NBA player Felipe López.

Harlem Globetrotters

In December 1995, Antigua graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in social sciences. He received offers from various NBA teams to attend their camps and also received offers from European scouts, but instead he decided to sign a deal to play for the world-renowned Harlem Globetrotters. Antigua, thus became the first Hispanic and the first non-black player on the Globetrotters' roster since Bob Karstens played with the squad in 1942–43. He made his debut as a Globetrotter in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

and was nicknamed "Hurricane" because of his dazzling moves and quickness. During the seven years in which he played with the Globetrotters, he represented the squad in 49 different countries and on tours to South America, South Africa and on the acclaimed "Youth in Our Lives Tour." Antigua met many people such as Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. He did commercials and showed his skills on the Late Show with David Letterman and in

Regis and Kathy Lee ''Live with Kelly and Mark'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts sinc ...

. According to Antigua, he rates meeting Nelson Mandela in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

as his favorite moment. He retired from the Globetrotters in February 2002.

Coaching career

From 2002–03, Antigua served as an assistant basketball coach at Mt. Lebanon High School under Joey David and worked as a sales representative for Cavanaugh Promotions in the North Hills. In 2003, Antigua returned to University of Pittsburgh men's basketball as the director of operations under head coach

Jamie Dixon James Patrick Dixon II (born November 10, 1965) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the TCU Horned Frogs men's team, where he played college ball. He previously served as the head coach of the University of Pittsbu ...

, and on June 7, 2006, was named an assistant coach. In 2008, Antigua was hired as an assistant coach for the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...

men's basketball program where he joined head coach John Calipari's staff. He then followed Calipari to the

to take an assistant job there. On March 31, 2014, Antigua was named the new head coach of the

South Florida Bulls The South Florida Bulls (also known as the USF Bulls) are the athletic teams that represent the University of South Florida. USF competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the American Athletic Conference for all sports besides sailing, ...

. He left Kentucky's staff at the conclusion of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. He was also the head coach of the

from 2013 to 2015. On January 3, 2017, USF dismissed Antigua as their head coach. On April 5, 2017, Antigua was added to Brad Underwood's staff at

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. In April 2021, it was rumored that Orlando Antigua may return to the University of Kentucky as an Assistant Coach under John Calipari. This was made official on May 6, 2021, when Kentucky announced that Antigua and Illinois assistant coach Ronald “Chin” Coleman had been added to their staff.

Awards and recognitions

Among the many awards and recognitions which Antigua has received are the following: *1991–95 Named the United States Basketball Writers' Association Most Courageous Athlete award recipient *Named to Big East All-Rookie Team after the 1991–92 season; started in 78 games, averaged 8.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in 116 career games from 1991–95; concluded career as one of Pittsburgh's best all-time three-point shooters (.386- 117–303). *Named one of the nation's top-100 most influential Hispanic Americans by Hispanic Business magazine.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antigua, Orlando 1973 births Living people Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City Baloncesto Superior Nacional players Dominican Republic people of Puerto Rican descent Harlem Globetrotters players High school basketball coaches in Pennsylvania Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball coaches Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball coaches Memphis Tigers men's basketball coaches Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball coaches Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball players Puerto Rican men's basketball players South Florida Bulls men's basketball coaches Dominican Republic emigrants to the United States Forwards (basketball)