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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 people 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.
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 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.
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 (Bayamon Cowboys) and NBA player Felipe López.
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. According to Antigua, he rates meeting Nelson Mandela in South Africa as his favorite moment. He retired from the Globetrotters in February 2002.
In 2008, Antigua was hired as an assistant coach for the University of Memphis men's basketball program where he joined head coach John Calipari's staff. 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.
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