There probably are some people who do not like Kentucky assistant basketball coach Orlando Antigua but they are few and far between. He just has a knack for relating to almost everyone and has an infectious smile that endears him to most people he meets.
Antigua says there’s nothing fake about his demeanor.
“It’s who I am. It’s who I’ve been. Obviously, the things that I’ve experienced in my life has allowed me to have a great appreciation for life, for opportunities,” he said.
“And having gone through a lot of challenging obstacles being able to keep things in perspective, understanding that you want to be around good people, you want to surround yourself around good people.
“That doesn’t mean because you’re around good people that it avoids you going through hard times. But it does give you a perspective of appreciating going through some tough times and knowing that that’s going to make you better.”
That means he can appreciate the turmoil UK coaches, players and fans felt last season when UK went 9-16. He was at UK for the 2012 national championship and Final Four appearances in 2011 and 2014. He was there for the John Wall-DeMarcus Cousins team in 2010.
“Being able to communicate with our players and getting them to (understand I can) be a sounding board for someone as they go through their own experiences and their own obstacles,” Antigua said.
“Let them know, ‘Listen you’re going to be better for it if you can at least stay with the process. Keep working. Keep trying to maintain your positive energy because I know on the backside of it what that becomes.’
“Eventually, God willing, they’ll have the opportunity then to reach back and to share those experiences like the staff and I have been fortunate enough to do, So then they can also uplift and bring up the generations that come up behind them.”