Up Close With PSR
Orlando Antigua

On April 15, the University of Pittsburgh replaced former men's basketball coach Ben Howland with his top assistant, Jamie Dixon. One of the new coach's first moves was to call former Pitt standout Orlando Antigua and offer him the job of director of basketball operations for the defending Big East champions. Antigua accepted the offer with no hesitation.

Antigua was a four-year letterwinner and two-year team captain at Pitt 1991-95. As a freshman, he was named to the Big East's All-Rookie Team and helped Pitt to an 18-16 record and a berth in the National Invitation Tournament. The following year, Pittsburgh gained an NCAA tournament berth. He was named the United States Basketball Writers' Association Most Courageous Athlete in 1994 and is ranked in Pitt's all-time top ten in career 3-pointers made, career 3-point field goal percentage, and blocked shots. Shortly after graduating with a degree in social sciences, Antigua became the first player of Latin American descent to become a member of the world-renowned Harlem Globetrotters, where he played until 2002. This past season, Antigua served as an assistant under another former Panther player, Joey David, at Mt. Lebanon High School. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife Dana and children Orlando Anthony, 11, and Olivia, 3.

PSR: People who follow Pitt basketball probably know you spent several years following your graduation playing for the Harlem Globetrotters. You retired from the team last year - fill us in on what you've been up to since?

OA: I don't know if I want to call it "retiring," seeing as I'm only 30 years old - moving on would be more like it.

I came back to Pittsburgh and was working in a sales capacity at Cavanaugh Promotions in the North Hills with Pat Cavanaugh, a former Pitt basketball player. I was also an assistant coach for the Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils boys' basketball team, working for Joey David, another Pitt player. I guess I try to hang around with those Pitt guards - but seriously, it was a great experience, both at Cavanaugh and at Mt. Lebo with Coach David.

PSR: How did you get hooked up with Joey David and Mount Lebo?

OA: A few years ago, I was trying to raise the money to get some kids from my church, Mt. Ararat in East Liberty, to go to the Globetrotter game. Joey and I knew each other through mutual friends, and we finally got a chance to talk. He was one of the guys who, when I initially called, asked how many kids I was trying to send. I told him I was looking at 50 - and he just said, 'OK, I'll take care of it.'

He really stepped up to the plate - so in return I told him that if ever he needed anything, to be sure to ask, because I really appreciated his effort and his generosity. So he knew I was back in town, and he asked if I would speak at his basketball camp. So obviously I talked at his camp and spent some time with the kids there. He mentioned afterwards that if I ever needed a place to work out, I could use their gym and play with the guys or whatever. I took him up on that offer, and started working out with the guys, and then he had a position open up on his staff. He asked me if I was interested in joining him as an assistant coach. I was working full-time at Cavanaugh, but both Pat and Joey were very understanding and flexible so that I could do both. And, as they say, the rest is history.

PSR: Were you looking to get back into coaching, specifically at the college level?

OA: Well I always knew that I had to still be involved in basketball; I hadn't lost the love for the game. I just decided it was time to move on, time to grow up and get a real job. Being with the Globetrotters for six and a half years was a great experience, but it did keep me away from home and away from my family. I got mentally fatigued and physically drained trying to keep up with that sort of schedule.

Being with the kids and coaching staff at Mt. Lebo really let me know that I needed to either remain with them, or to move on to college coaching if I had the chance. When this opportunity presented itself, needless to say, I was elated.

PSR: Your younger brother Oliver is the head coach at one of the premier high school programs, certainly in the northeast, if not the country, at St. Raymond's in the Bronx. How will that help with recruiting the New York area?

OA: Certainly having a connection like that will help, with the great players that have come through that program and will probably continue to come through there. He still has to take into consideration what the kids need. If it happens that we have a scholarship available that fits a kid's needs, and he like us, then that's always helpful. But he has got to have the integrity to always look out for the kids' best interests. He's always done it that way, that's what he will continue to do, and I wouldn't expect anything less of him.

PSR: Do you have a coaching mentor, or someone whose coaching style has influenced you?

OA: I've had a lot of coaches throughout my basketball experience, obviously. My high school coach Gary DeCesare, who is now an assistant coach at Richmond, had a lot to do with forming some of my basketball philosophies.

Now that I'm at this level, though, I sort of have a blank slate to be able to learn as much as I can from a coach like a Jamie Dixon, who has really helped this program, and the other programs he's been around, become very successful. In watching how unselfish and how together these guys played last year, I can't wait to be around Coach Dixon. Just watching him dictate the practices and seeing how he deals with the players is something I can learn a lot from.

PSR: What kind of relationship did you have or do you have with Ben Howland?

OA: I had a good relationship with Coach Howland. Obviously with my schedule and traveling and so forth, I didn't have a lot of time to spend visiting in Oakland. But we've always had a friendly relationship of support over the phone, and of course he knew my brother was in New York so we had ties through that...It was a good relationship.

PSR: What type of challenges will you and the rest of Jamie Dixon's staff face in trying to replace a coach who had the kind of success Ben had?

OA: I think it'll be some of the same challenges Coach Howland faced - making sure we recruit excellent players, as well as excellent students and excellent people. One of the things Coach Dixon and the previous staff did here was bring in quality people who fit into the philosophy and the mold of the coaching staff.

I think that will continue because Coach Dixon had a great hand in recruiting those players. I think that's pretty much always the challenge - trying to get everyone prepared, and in making sure they take full advantage of everything that being a student-athlete is about.

PSR: Talk a little bit about what it meant to you individually to become the first Hispanic player in Globetrotter history?

OA: That was a tremendous honor. I think in anything that you do in life, you always want to be able to leave a legacy or a mark. For me to have that opportunity and be able to leave my mark in Globetrotter history and in basketball history - that was such a tremendous honor for me; and a tremendous pleasure.