USF's Antigua prepares 'championship program'.
Orlando Antigua thinks he could change South Florida's struggling basketball program into a regular champion.
The Kentucky assistant was presented Tuesday as the nine coach in the American Sports Meeting college's past, and he's barely the first to take the work encouraging better days.
However Antigua is among the country's leading employers, one of the reasons Kentucky is in the Final Four with a starting five of all freshers, and he claims there's no reason USF can't win championships, as well.
"That will take job," he pointed out throughout a news conference in the Sunlight Dome's Sector Club. "I'm not afraid of work.".
The John Calipari understudy takes control of a program that's made the NCAA event the moment in the past 22 years. Precursor Stan Health got to USF sporting a strong performance history of getting groups to discover their possible, however the Bulls went 97-130 in numerous seasons under the terminated instructor.
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Antigua, which got a five-year, $4.75 million agreement that could be worth more with incentives, would like to play an up tempo design of basketball like just what Calipari has actually prospered on at Kentucky and a previous quit at Memphis. The 41-year-old vows to be competitive in recruiting, as well, although he cut short of guaranteeing to deliver the kind of "one-and-done" skill that's helped Kentucky get to the Final Four three of the past 4 years.
"We will certainly run a champion program," Antigua mentioned, adding that Calipari urged him to go after the chance when USF came close to after an offer to bring in Manhattan's Steve Masiello broke down and UNLV's Dave Rice obtained an agreement extension rather accepting a deal from the Bulls.
"He stated it's a sleeping giant ... go acquire the job, shock folks and make some record," stated Antigua, which stays a part of Calipari's team for at least a few even more days. He will certainly come with the Wildcats to Dallas for the Final 4 on Wednesday.
"We will certainly play as fast as we can and be as disciplined on defense as we should be," Antigua included. "It's a stimulating brand name of basketball. It's a way to impose your will on an opponent, and it's the way kids like to play.".
Antigua played at Pittsburgh from 1991 to 1995 and later invested five seasons as an aide under Jamie Dixon with the Panthers. He visited work for Calipari at Memphis in 2008, and the adhering to season they moved on to Kentucky, where Antigua aided the Wildcats land the No. 1 recruiting training in the country each of the past 5 years.
Calipari expects him to be effective at USF, which went 12-20 under Health this period. The Bulls made the NCAA event for the initial time in Two Decade in 2012, however simply succeeded 24 video games over the past 2 years.
"I have the utmost self-confidence in him to lead (USF) to brand-new elevations," Calipari pointed out in a statement launched by Kentucky, which this week ends up being the first team to head to the Final 4 with five fresher starters given that Michigan in 1992. "My guess is they will certainly do points that have actually never been done before at South Florida.".
Two years earlier, Kentucky had a record six players selected in the NBA draft, consisting of the top 2 selections in Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
Antigua, whose return to features a job as a gamer with the Harlem Globetrotters, isn't concerned that he had not been USF's front runner.
The Bulls had a contract in concept to work with Masiello, simply to see the bargain crumble considering that the Manhattan train doesn't have a college diploma-- among the demands for the USF work. New sports supervisor Mark Harlan pursued Rice and also spoke to numerous other prospective prospects just before employing Antigua.
"I think my encounters and ambient make me the best man for the work," the brand-new coach claimed. "However talk is cheap. You need to reveal. We've got to have success.".
