Orlando Antigua

Orlando Radhames Antigua Fernández (born February 20, 1973), nicknamed "Hurricane", is a Dominican-American basketball coach and former player who is currently the associate head coach at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was also an assistant there from 2017 to 2021.

Antigua was previously an assistant coach under John Calipari at the University of Kentucky. He is widely known as becoming the first Hispanic and the first non-black 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 at Pittsburgh, the University of Memphis, and the University of Kentucky. In 2014, he was named the head coach at South Florida, which he held until 2017. He also served as the head coach of the Dominican Republic national basketball team from 2013 to 2015.

Early years Antigua was born in the Dominican Republic to a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother. The family moved to New York City and lived in the Bronx 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, although the doctors were unable to extract the bullet until a later time. He was back playing basketball just two months after the incident

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. He then followed Calipari to the University of Kentucky to take an assistant job there.

On March 31, 2014, Antigua was named the new head coach of the South Florida Bulls. He left Kentucky's staff at the conclusion of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. He was also the head coach of the Dominican Republic national basketball team 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. On May 6, 2021, it was announced that Antigua and fellow Illinois assistant coach Ronald Coleman were joining the Kentucky coaching staff. After Calipari left Kentucky in 2024, Antigua returned to Illinois as associate head coach.

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