Arkansas coach John Calipari will bring most of his assistants from the 2023-24 season at Kentucky with him to Fayetteville, according to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.
The roster includes Orlando Antigua, Ronald “Chin” Coleman and Chuck Martin, plus James “Bruiser” Flint as a special assistant and Calipari’s son Brad in a development role.
HawgBeat also reported that former Kentucky assistant and Louisville head coach Kenny Payne will join Calipari’s staff, but this is not official, nor have any of the additions to the staff been reported by Norlander. The rules allow for five assistant coaches and more support roles, so Calipari’s team is not close to the final.
Orlando Antigua served as Calipari’s associate coach with the Wildcats from 2021-24 and his work on the recruiting trail was vital. The most recent stint at Kentucky was Antigua’s first, as he was also there with Calipari from 2009 to 2014, where the Wildcats earned five straight top-tier recruiting classes. Antigua also served as Calipari’s assistant at Memphis in 2008-09.
Before joining Kentucky for a second time, Antigua was head coach at South Florida for two and a half seasons from 2014-17 before taking an assistant position at Illinois from 2017-21.
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Similar to Antigua, Chin Coleman joined Kentucky in 2021 after serving as an assistant coach at Illinois for four seasons. Coleman helped develop players like Sahvir Wheeler, TyTy Washington Jr., Cason Wallace and Antonio Reeves in recent years at Kentucky.
Prior to his time at Illinois from 2017-21, Coleman was an assistant at Illinois-Chicago from 2015-17 and Bradley from 2012-15.
“With a relationship-oriented focus that has provided success on the court with his players and on the recruiting trail, he has earned a reputation as one of the best assistant coaches in the country,” Kentucky Athletics said of Coleman.
Chuck Martin joined the Kentucky staff in July 2023 via Dana Altman’s staff at Oregon, where Martin spent the 2022-23 season. He served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Wildcats. Before Oregon, Martin spent five seasons as an assistant at South Carolina.
From 2014-17, Martin was an assistant coach at Indiana, where he helped make two NCAA tournament appearances and a Big Ten championship in 2016. Martin also worked with Calipari at Memphis from 2006-08 and helped the Tigers reach the 2008 national championship . championship game.
Bruiser Flint most recently served as Calipari’s associate to Kentucky’s head coach. He joined the Wildcats in 2020-21 as an assistant coach and was elevated to the role of head coach in May 2021.
“Flint, who played a key role in Kentucky’s game management and Xs and Os as an assistant in 2020-21, has taken on greater responsibility in game planning, scouting opponents and helping Calipari formulate the team’s approach. in practices and games,” Kentucky Athletics said of Flint.
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Of all the assistants expected to join Calipari, it appears Flint has worked with him the longest, as he was on Calipari’s staff at UMass from 1989-96. Flint took over as head coach at UMass from 1996 to 2001 after Calipari left. He then served as head coach at Drexel from 2001-16 before returning as an assistant at Indiana from 2017-20.
Brad Calipari served as Jerry Stackhouse’s director of on-court player development at Vanderbilt last season. He played for his father at Kentucky from 2016-18 before transferring to Detroit Mercy from 2019-21. He then served as the Wildcats’ graduate assistant in 2022 before joining the Long Island University staff as director of player development for the 2022-23 season.
Norlander did not mention assistant coach John Welch, who joins Kentucky in May 2023. Stay tuned The gutter Premium message board for any developments related to Calipari’s team and roster.
