Antigua

[kywildcat41035]

So my question is does Coach O want to stay on the staff because he wants to be here and help Pope? Or does he want to stay on just to get that roster bonus come June 1st? Seems like he’s always been loyal to Cal I mean he did leave Illinois to come back to UK to help his buddy out.

We all will know soon enough who Coach Pope has hired for all the coaching positions. We will probably find out for sure come Monday. He will put into the positions who he sees fit to help the program move forward to the goals of hanging banners.

 

[Rockfly78]

Hello to the no.

Cal has broken most of you.

 

[cbrwalt]

It was a girl that brought up the name Saint Thomas, and in a very general way she implied that one of her parents works at UK and has inside sources.


If she is right about this, Ill put her twitter handle up for everyone to follow.

 

[Bluefinger]

If coach O wants to stay absolutely keep him. This would be huge.

 

[North Carolina Blue Wildcat]

Things changed around Cal. O wasn’t the same guy this time around as he was his first. If he is asking to stay, this is very telling. Not only did we lose faith in Cal, but people that have been around him a long time could be as well.

 

[JFCats22]

If O wants to stay and Pope wants him then I have faith they will work it out. However, they better demand a large buyout in O's new contract that doesn't allow him to simply collect his upcoming bonus and then hit the road.

 

[AzubuikeandFitch]

I just watched a highlight video, and I know highlight videos don’t show everything, but he looks like a good player. I wouldnt mind Thomas, Robinson, and one mckneely/tyson/brea

I want two of Brea, Tyson, McKneely.

 

[JonathanW]

So my question is does Coach O want to stay on the staff because he wants to be here and help Pope? Or does he want to stay on just to get that roster bonus come June 1st? Seems like he’s always been loyal to Cal I mean he did leave Illinois to come back to UK to help his buddy out.

We all will know soon enough who Coach Pope has hired for all the coaching positions. We will probably find out for sure come Monday. He will put into the positions who he sees fit to help the program move forward to the goals of hanging banners.

I'm pretty sure he got a pay raise to come to UK, and go to a more prestigous program. It's not like he took a cut to (as you put it) "help his buddy out".

Now if there is a roster bonus, that certainly could be a (big) factor. But he didn't seem to be as influential w/ Cal as many expected 2nd time around. So it may depend on how high in the pecking order he thinks he could be with Pope at UK vs w/ Cal at Ark. Or if Cal didn't ask him to join him, then we would be his best option.

 

[JonathanW]

I want two of Brea, Tyson, McKneely.

I'm greedy, want all 3. I see Brea as a 2 who can play some 3, Tyson as a 3, McNeeley as a 3/4 tweener who if we got Tyson may play a good bit of 4 (which doesn't matter on offense, only on defense).

 

[shodaman]

I thought Cal took all assistants except Welch with him to Arkansas and added Brad

 

[hoggwildcat]

If O is such a good Coach and recruiter while is CAL not taking him to Arkansas? Also O seems to be a yes man as he went along with CAL’s snake oil gig and didn’t seem to offer much resistance.

Cal has not announced any staff members, but rumors are, he wants to bring all of his UK staff members. So, we will be stealing him from Cal which would make an even more of a good proposition.

 

[AzubuikeandFitch]

I'm greedy, want all 3. I see Brea as a 2 who can play some 3, Tyson as a 3, McNeeley as a 3/4 tweener who if we got Tyson may play a good bit of 4 (which doesn't matter on offense, only on defense).

Agreed. I was just tempering my expectations. I'd be happy with two and THRILLED with all 3. Talk about floor spacing and shooting.

 

[kywildcat41035]

They’re saying on the KSR pre show that there are rumors that Coach O is rumored to be retained and he’s recruiting on behalf of UK. They are also saying Kenny Payne and Sean Woods are also rumored. So they are just throwing stuff against the wall to see if it sticks.

 

[CELTICAT]

My guess is he’s on board until he gets his retention bonus, and there’s no cause to terminate his current contract, including the fact that he continues to make calls and do his job.

 

[Pygmy Sasquatch]

Cal's decision to run affected everyone on his staff as well as players. I don't think he cared really about how much he was affecting them and their lives. If he did it was likely in the context of how those people could help him, with no thought to their situations or feelings. Speaks volumes to his character.

 

[nickhorvathsuxazz]

O contacting the kid on UK's behalf may be as simple as he's still under contract, he's still going to do his job, he's going to collect a bonus in May or June, he's going to decide to join cal at arkansas after cashing the check

 

[Fox2monk]

Why? He’s a good recruiter and out of all the Cal assistants he would’ve been the one to keep.

I have to agree, he’s the most in tune with top recruits. If that is the way we go I’d rather have coach O stay. He has a track record he can sell here too.

 

[Fox2monk]

Cal's decision to run affected everyone on his staff as well as players. I don't think he cared really about how much he was affecting them and their lives. If he did it was likely in the context of how those people could help him, with no thought to their situations or feelings. Speaks volumes to his character.

No doubt he blindsided everyone, which is why I’m surprised everyone on the team and signed just up and left so easily. Makes me sad for the state of college ball honestly.

 

[Fox2monk]

If he’s all in with Pope and how things are around here now, I’m good with it.

Not to mention he may have an axe to grind with Cal and actively try to steal his players. That would be motivation and awesome.

 

[catlogic15]

I’m not sure how I feel about this. Antigua wants to stay because nowhere else is going to come close to laying him $900k a year and UK owes him $400k retention bonus on June 1.

Plus, there HAS to be some loyalty on his part to Cal. Unless they grew to dislike each other (which nobody has heard is the case) I don’t know how Pope can take the risk of keeping him.

Ostensibly O’s wife really wants to stay in Lexington so he’s trying to make it happen. Understandable as we’ve been wife-bit recently too.

 

[Fox2monk]

47/33/86 avg 20&10. 6’7” 200 F.

Isn’t that where Dalton Knecht was from?

 

[BlueRunner11]

I’m not sure how I feel about this. Antigua wants to stay because nowhere else is going to come close to laying him $900k a year and UK owes him $400k retention bonus on June 1.

Plus, there HAS to be some loyalty on his part to Cal. Unless they grew to dislike each other (which nobody has heard is the case) I don’t know how Pope can take the risk of keeping him.

Yeah why even chance it if you’re Pope? Just got the job of your dreams and you’re going to risk things not going as planned by keeping a Cal holdover? Truth is, no one knows Antiguas true intentions. Maybe he plans on phoning it in all year til a better move is out there kinda like his mentor did. Just can’t take any chances if you’re Pope.

Shocking so many on here are ok with this.

 

[Rockfly78]

wtf is wrong with some of you and why would you want anything to do with Cal to still be here? Cleanse everything of his stank

That's close minded thinking. If in fact O loves living here then it's entirely plausible that he would want to remain on staff at Ky. He is a hell of a recruiter and already has relationships with a lot of the kids that Pope is trying to reel in. At the end of the day a man is loyal to himself and his own family first and foremost. Why would you not want him to stay on if he can help the program? I'm starting to believe that Cal has broken some of our fans.

 

[jwphelps]

Still recruiting for Kentucky, he contacted Kris Parker the Bama transfer.

He’s trying to get the final spot on the staff

I heard his contract for some of his money runs thru late June, but who knows if he wants to stay.

 

[Jakerz]

I’d love to have O back. The only cal assistant I would want

 

[Dontbanstan]

If you can keep O you keep him. He’s one of the hardest hitting recruiters in the game. And I don’t believe it’s got anything to do with Calipari playing games, I believe it’s because Calipari has gotten really hard to work for at his age and O doesn’t want to. Lucas ran away from him, He pushed out Welch, he’s bringing in Brad, and O probably thinks there’s some favoritism toward Chin which, I don’t get because he’s simply not that good and likes to party way too much. But Calipari always has his slimy reasons and it’s probably that O has his own mind and Calipari won’t accept anyone but yes men. Chin fits the mold O has been a head coach and lead recruiting assistant for a lot longer. He doesn’t say “awesome job Cal” and cater to his ego.

Remember Coach O screaming at the top of his lungs at Calipari? You could hear him over the entire crowd on TV. From that moment on he and Cal were done. Cal is crazy and his ego is gone. I also think O probably doesn’t like that Calipari moved him back to Lexington and was immediately looking for a way out at the same time

Keep O he knows exactly how to counter Cal and knows his system well. It would be stupid to let that go but I suspect he’s staying if he’s still out there fielding calls. Pope is keeping everything close to the vest and this is probably one of them.

 

[ChicagoCat1990]

He could be the perfect bridge between a high profile recruit and coach Pope.

 

[kywildcat41035]

To be honest I would’ve probably kept Welch and Coach O from the previous coaching staff.

 

[JFCats22]

Jones says O is still working at and on behalf of UK. He was at the Joe Craft center working yesterday!

Says Pope is open to keeping O but they are vetting it out.

 

[kywildcat41035]

Jones says O is still working at and on behalf of UK. He was at the Joe Craft center working yesterday!

Says Pope is open to keeping O but they are vetting it out.

Yep heard the same exact thing you just did…

 

[Elliott Tim]

Oh my.

Walter Mitty wannabe.

 

[BassProCat]

Get er done

 

[wardlow]

If Pope wants him I am on board. I’m just ready for some announcements and keeping the momentum going.

Exciting days ahead

 

[Runnin'Ramel]

From what I’ve seen today, Antigua and his family love Lexington and they don’t want to move. At some point you are tired of jumping from jobs and want to stay in one place.

$400k retention bonus kinda matters too ….

 

[IL Wildcat]

I don't have a problem with Coach Antigua staying, personally. He's an excellent recruiter, which is something Coach Pope needs. I can completely understand why Pope would want to cut ALL ties with Calipari, which would send Antigua on his way. BUT, here's a thought...

Although I think most of the UK fanbase is on board with Mark Pope, I know there are still some who are upset with losing Calipari, and keeping Antigua could be an olive branch of sorts to those fans. And Antigua has proven himself for many years. He actually has more experience coaching than Pope, and I think it could be beneficial to keep him, if he genuinely wants to stick around, That's my 2 cents.