Calipari's coaching staff at Arkansas taking shape
Arkansas head coach John Calipari's coaching staff is starting to take shape, according to reports.
Arkansas head 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 list 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 has also reported that former Kentucky assistant and Louisville head coach Kenny Payne will be joining Calipari's staff, but that is not official, nor are any of the staff additions reported by Norlander. Rules allow for five assistant coaches and more support staff roles, so Calipari's staff is not close to final.
Orlando Antigua served as an associate coach under Calipari 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 2009-14, which saw the Wildcats earn five straight top-ranked recruiting classes. Antigua also served as an assistant under Calipari at Memphis in 2008-09.
Prior to joining Kentucky a second time, Antigua was the head coach of South Florida for two and a half seasons from 2014-17 before he took an assistant position at Illinois from 2017-21.
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.
Before 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-driven focus that has forged success on the court with his players and on the recruiting trail, he has earned a reputation as one of the top assistant coaches in the country," Kentucky Athletics said of Coleman.
Chuck Martin joined Kentucky's staff in July 2023 by way of 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. Prior to Oregon, Martin spent five seasons as an assistant at South Carolina.
From 2014-17, Martin was an assistant coach at Indiana, which he helped two a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and a Big Ten championship in 2016. Martin also worked under Calipari at Memphis from 2006-08 and helped the Tigers reach the 2008 national championship game.
Bruiser Flint most recently served as Calipari's associate to the head coach at Kentucky. He joined the Wildcats in 2020-21 as an assistant coach and he was elevated to the associate to the head coach role 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 an increased responsibility in game planning, scouting opponents, and helping Calipari formulate the team’s approach in practices and in games," Kentucky Athletics said of Flint.
Of all the assistants expected to join Calipari, it looks like Flint has worked with him the longest, as he was on Calipari's staff at UMass from 1989-96. Flint took over as UMass head coach from 1996-2001 after Calipari left. He then held the Drexel head coach job from 2001-16 before returning to an assistant role at Indiana from 2017-20.
Brad Calipari served as director of on-court player development for Jerry Stackhouse 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 as graduate assistant for the Wildcats in 2022 before joining the Long Island University staff as director of player development for the 2022-23 season.
Stay tuned to The Trough premium message board for any developments regarding Calipari's staff and roster.
