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Antigua wanted to stay

A

AJG-15

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Apr 8, 2024
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When I drove to Lexington on a basketball tournament, I met Oscar and Orlando. Both were extremely nice and willing to talk.

Orlando is a great recruiter, great developer for bigs and most of all a very nice gentleman.

if I was Pope , I would definitely make the call.
 
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UKGrad24

UKGrad24

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Apr 2, 2024
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Catphright23 said:
Wow. You just keep on. Antigua is just an assistant. We beat illinois last year.
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Some of these responses are mind boggling bad. He beat sscheyer last season too, early in the year with an older roster. He also came back form being killed to do it late. It doesn’t matter in this context. We’re looking for ways to compete for championships not just win a season 2 game, or win an early tournament game then exit. Obviously those guys are doing much better than Pope, their teams improve, they’re getting better year to year. What on earth does him winning a game against anybody matter when you’re looking at the total picture.

And that total picture says Kentucky is spending far, far more money on recruiting than anyone other than maybe Duke. And Duke is consistently in the elite 8 / final four. We’re having trouble limping into tournaments just to get sent packing almost immediately. Hell we were basically beaten round 1 this season, a Hail Mary bailed Pope out. Underwood is headed to the final four.

Im sorry but the “I support Pope” posters have worst takes than the Calipari boys did and that’s really bad.
 
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JASUN74

JASUN74

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BlueBloodKyFan73 said:
How he didn’t recruit any of these top players it was Tyler underwood and tomislav
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I believe we would’ve got a lot of the players we missed out on and who knows who else we could’ve got with him here had he been here the entire time. Never know for sure of course.
 
BlueBloodKyFan73

BlueBloodKyFan73

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Oct 29, 2010
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JASUN74 said:
I believe we would’ve got a lot of the players we missed out on and who knows who else we could’ve got with him here had he been here the entire time. Never know for sure of course.
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I get your point but it’s a wash dude he didn’t recruit any of them
 
N

NoDef

All-American
Sep 1, 2001
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JASUN74 said:
Coaches change like babies change diapers anymore. lol. A little conversation wouldn’t hurt.
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Every once in a while you would think some wouldn't want to uproot their family and move again. Coaching is a funny profession. It's like nothing else matters besides trying to get to the top level. The heck with the kids and the wife..
 
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JASUN74

JASUN74

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NoDef said:
Every once in a while you would think some wouldn't want to uproot their family and move again. Coaching is a funny profession. It's like nothing else matters besides trying to get to the top level. The heck with the kids and the wife..
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Agree
 
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mc140

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
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The majority of the Illinois roster guys who matter are guys tied to Jokic's agent who Underwood dealt directly with. I don't think Antigua has done much for their success this year.
 
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SenseMaker_Cats

All-Conference
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UKGrad24 said:
Some of these responses are mind boggling bad. He beat sscheyer last season too, early in the year with an older roster. He also came back form being killed to do it late. It doesn’t matter in this context. We’re looking for ways to compete for championships not just win a season 2 game, or win an early tournament game then exit. Obviously those guys are doing much better than Pope, their teams improve, they’re getting better year to year. What on earth does him winning a game against anybody matter when you’re looking at the total picture.

And that total picture says Kentucky is spending far, far more money on recruiting than anyone other than maybe Duke. And Duke is consistently in the elite 8 / final four. We’re having trouble limping into tournaments just to get sent packing almost immediately. Hell we were basically beaten round 1 this season, a Hail Mary bailed Pope out. Underwood is headed to the final four.

Im sorry but the “I support Pope” posters have worst takes than the Calipari boys did and that’s really bad.
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I believe the actual context is that Antigua is just an assistant and not a big reason they’re in the final four. He sure didn’t get it done at USF. There’s a reason people think Antigua is a great recruiter and that reason now lives in Arkansas. Reminder: it is possible to want Pope gone and at the same time not post stupid crap for the next year.

Below is a list of the additional players we would have signed with Antigua on staff:
 
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bigblueinsanity (the real)

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Jul 6, 2025
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Was hard to tell if O actually wanted to stay or if he kept showing up to make sure he didn't give UK an out on his contract.

Either way, there really did need to be a clean break. We hired an even better recruiter in ab3, so it isn't like staff talent fell off. We just have a hc issue.
 
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Praetorian Cat

Sophomore
Mar 22, 2026
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Orlando comes with Cal and recruiting blows up at UK. Orlando leaves and UK recruiting drops off a bit. Orlanda goes to IL and their recruiting picks up. Orlando comes back to UK and recruiting picks back up again. Orlando leaves UK when the staff changes and recruiting goes to ****.

Meanwhile, Orlando goes back to IL, and IL recruits a former UK player who left UK for Arky to come play with his brother at IL. IL also goes to the F4 in Orlando's 2nd year back with them.

And obviously Underwood thinks pretty highly of him to rehire him 2 years after he quite to come back to UK.

However, on rafters:

"Orlando hasn't done much"

"Well, we beat IL last year"
 
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SenseMaker_Cats

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“Orlando comes with Cal and recruiting blows up at UK” 🤣

I do have to admit it was a shame when the KAT class decommitted because Antigua went to USF. It was also a shame we had to stomach through the Fox/Monk/Adebayo class while Antigua was gone.
 
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L

L.O.D.

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Feb 4, 2024
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Wasn't Brooks supposed to be an upgrade to Antiqua? He wanted to return Pope wanted all remnants out . Pope seems like a control freak that wants total control but has no idea how to lead.
 
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megablue

Heisman
Oct 2, 2012
15,515
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Orlando Antigua is considered one of the best recruiters in college basketball. ESPN ranked him among the top five most feared recruiters, and he is credited with landing elite talent for Kentucky and Illinois. Known for his ability to connect with people, he played a key role in landing top-ranked recruiting classes at UK.

Key Recruiting & Coaching Accomplishments:
  • Elite Talent Acquisition: Played a major role in securing top-tier recruiting classes at Kentucky.
  • Key Commitments: Instrumental in recruiting top talent such as Karl-Anthony Towns, Nerlens Noel, and Reed Sheppard.
  • Program Turnarounds: Helped build Illinois into a national contender, as noted by the University of Illinois Athletics and 247Sports.
  • Reputation: Regarded as an "unbelievable communicator" and a elite connector of people, as discussed in the Yahoo Sports Canada article.

    Antigua, a former assistant at Kentucky and Illinois, has consistently proven his skill in building relationships and attracting high-level talent to top programs.
 

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Blu-ish

Blu-ish

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Praetorian Cat said:
Orlando comes with Cal and recruiting blows up at UK. Orlando leaves and UK recruiting drops off a bit. Orlanda goes to IL and their recruiting picks up. Orlando comes back to UK and recruiting picks back up again. Orlando leaves UK when the staff changes and recruiting goes to ****.

Meanwhile, Orlando goes back to IL, and IL recruits a former UK player who left UK for Arky to come play with his brother at IL. IL also goes to the F4 in Orlando's 2nd year back with them.

And obviously Underwood thinks pretty highly of him to rehire him 2 years after he quite to come back to UK.

However, on rafters:

"Orlando hasn't done much"

"Well, we beat IL last year"
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C'mon man. Anyone can cherry pick their way to a conclusion. /s
 
Yardeth

Yardeth

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Jan 2, 2007
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L.O.D. said:
Wasn't Brooks supposed to be an upgrade to Antiqua? He wanted to return Pope wanted all remnants out . Pope seems like a control freak that wants total control but has no idea how to lead.
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He is the type of personality that wants everything gone from the old regime and he wants new paint and softer colors. His Leadership Style is: Leading by not leading, he makes you think he isn’t leading so you have to take charge and do it, he takes the credit if you did it right and runs over you with a bus if it’s wrong. We all have had that boss before. 😔
 
U

UKBB4Ever

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Jul 3, 2025
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FatCatMan said:
And guess who told him to no? Who’s in the Final Four and who is fighting for their job next year predominantly for being one of the worst recruiters in UK basketball history. And we thought Calipari had an ego.
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Why would you think he wanted to stay?

Only place I’ve ever heard that is here.

I know quite a few people close to the program. They never said that was the case.
 
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