Orlando Antigua has served two different stints on John Calipari’s coaching staff at Kentucky. They are very familiar with each other and have developed a strong relationship throughout the years.
Antigua, who is listed on the roster as ‘Associate Coach,’ was with the Wildcats from 2009 through 2014 and later returned in 2021. He is considered to be one of the best recruiters in the country. He also plays a prominent role in player development.
All of this goes to say that there is an established rapport between Antigua and Calipari. A mutual respect.
Thus, the former was able to accomplish the dream of every employee in the world on Tuesday night. Antigua screamed in the face of Calipari during Kentucky’ college basketball game against Missouri.
It appeared as though Calipari was not happy that Antigua subbed a player out of the game and gave him a dirty look. Antigua responded by yelling right back at Calipari: “he just asked for it.”
The head coach moved on!
As soon as the clip went viral, two of the coaches’ daughters were able to bond over the exchange.
Erin Calipari, the eldest daughter of John, joked that she “feels” Antigua’s frustrations. Liv Antigua, the daughter of Orlando, responded back to say that she was at work when the whole thing went down and returned to find her phone had been blowing up with people sending her the clip of her dad.
There was and is no bad blood between Orlando Antigua and John Calipari. They moved on. It was a mutual understanding that was quickly a thing of the past.
The sixth-ranked Wildcats went on to beat the Tigers by 13.
While some people would look at Antigua’s response as a negative, it is actually the opposite. There is enough mutual respect and admiration between the two Kentucky coaches that it was no big deal!