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South Florida Basketball: Why was Orlando Antigua fired?

By Carmine Carcieri

Dec 17, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; South Florida Bulls head coach Orlando Antigua reacts against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first half at USF Sun Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; South Florida Bulls head coach Orlando Antigua reacts against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first half at USF Sun Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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A multitude of reasons contributed to the firing of South Florida basketball head coach Orlando Antigua.

Two games into AAC play, South Florida has already opted to fire their head coach Orlando Antigua.

Related Story: UCF pulls away in 2nd half to defeat Tulane

“After a thorough and deliberate review of our men’s basketball program, a decision has been made to make a head coaching change,” USF Athletic Director Mark Harlan wrote in a letter via ESPN. “I met with Coach Antigua earlier today to inform him of this and to thank him for his service to USF. We wish Coach Antigua and his family the very best.”

With Antigua fired, assistant Murry Bartow will serve as the team’s interim head coach before the school moves forward with a full coaching search this offseason.

So why was Antigua fired less than three years into his tenure with USF? There are a multitude of reasons why South Florida not only decided to move forward without Antigua, but why the timing of the move makes sense.

  • First, Antigua was not successful in the win column. The former Kentucky assistant won 17 combined games in his first two years, didn’t finish with more than nine wins in any given season and was on pace to bottom out in 2016-17 with just a 6-7 record (0-2 in AAC) so far. The lack of progress wasn’t getting it done.
  • In addition to the lack of wins, South Florida lost two important pieces in the last few months. First, the Bulls’ top 2016 recruit, Troy Baxter, opted out of his National Letter of Intent four months ago and committed to UNLV. More recently, the team’s leading scorer Jahmal McMurray decided to transfer and has taken a visit to St. John’s already.
  • USF is also dealing with an academic scandal that resulted in the resignation of Antigua’s brother Oliver. The NCAA is still investigating the program for potential academic fraud issues, which could eventually lead to hefty NCAA sanctions.
  • Let’s remember, even from the beginning, South Florida was not expected to hire Antigua. The Bulls’ first choice was Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello. However, because the Jaspers’ head coach falsely listed that he graduated from Kentucky on his resume, Antigua was hired as the second option.
  • Finally, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, the inexperience of his staff was one of the main reasons he was laid off. The source told Goodman, “And they had all these guys from New York on staff — and didn’t sign kids from New York.”

The Bulls will move forward with a very difficult upcoming slate of games; they travel to SMU, host Tulane and then travel to both Memphis and UCF. With McMurray gone, Geno Thorpe is now the team’s leading scorer at 13.4 points per game. Tulio Da Silva (10.6 points) and Troy Holston Jr. (10.6) are the only other Bulls to average double figures in points.

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South Florida is in flux as a program. They’ll need to finish up the season strong, find the proper head coach to lead the team and add some talented recruits to the puzzle. If not, expect them to continue to finish at the bottom of the AAC.