And to see the hang-ups we have today

We need to fly, fly, fly, fly

Let's jump, let's fly, let's be

Let's jump, let's fly, let's be

Welcome in to episode 97 of The Sources Say Podcast, your go-to Kentucky basketball and recruiting podcast on the Growing Care It's Our Podcast Network, I'm your host Jack Pilgrim of Kentucky Sports Radio, and today I'm happy to be joined once again by Sean Smith of Go Big Blue Country, Sean, how the heck are you?

Doing good, Jack, how are you? I'm doing great. We finally have, it feels like we were finally past that long waiting period of this news to finally break. We got CJ Fredrick's commitment yesterday, and now here it is, finally we've talked about it for weeks now, Kentucky has two new additions to the coaching staff in Chen Coleman at Illinois is making his debut on the Kentucky bench,

but Orlando Antigua has made his much-awaited return joining John Calipari staff, Sean, obviously massive news on just from top to bottom for a program that's in such desperate need of just some momentum, some swagger to return, it feels like you couldn't ask for a better pick than Coach O, so we'll jump right into it, Sean, what were your immediate reactions to just the overall additions and kind of like the build up to this moment?

So we're, you know, we are right now.

Finally, you know, we've been sitting here waiting on it for a couple of weeks to actually become official, and now that it is official from top to bottom, when you're talking the addition of these two to go along with what Kentucky has in Jay Lucas and Brewster Flint's role, Kentucky has one of the best coaching staffs in all college basketball again.

A staff that looks entirely different than it did, let's say a year ago, and it was Kenny Payne, Joe Justice and Tony Barbie, all three of those guys are gone.

You bring back a fresh face in Orlando Antigua, a guy checked that back when he was at Kentucky, it wasn't Kenny Payne that you feared when you walked into a new IBL event or somewhere on the deed of circuit and Kentucky sitting there.

It was Orlando Antigua was the assistant coach along with John Calibary that you looked at and was like, okay, Kentucky, Kentucky wants to get this kid they're watching, they're probably going to get on those were the days that Orlando was in Lexington.

And I like the addition of Chen Coleman, I think both guys are great and not only the game of basketball, not only on the recruiting trail, but they're great at building relationships.

And I think that's the biggest thing that comes from this, not only are those relationships in recruiting when it comes to trying to pursue high school talent, transfers and things like that in the spring.

But I think the relationships that these two can build and kind of nurture when it comes to someone on staff like Kentucky missed this past year with a Kenny Payne.

I think that's the biggest thing with getting both these guys because that's you saw it, Illinois players reacting to Chen Coleman leaving, you know, Orlando Antigua, obviously a guy that players like, I think that's the biggest thing that comes from this.

Yeah, I completely agree, I think you know, we talked about this when the when the rumors were first kind of spreading and this is Sean that we talked about this behind the scenes, I mean, three weeks ago, this is almost a month on the making.

But we talked about how there was a kind of a sense within the Kentucky coaching staff, especially on John Calipari side that there wasn't, there wasn't the trust that needs to be on, you know, within a coaching staff of junk of Kentucky's nature of the statue, the blue blood program that is Kentucky basketball.

There wasn't that trust aspect on John Calipari side where he could rely on a guy like Joel Justice, a guy like Tony Barbie, even, you know, bruiser Flint and Jay Lucas just in terms of individual coaching.

I don't think there was that that trust factor in letting them go out on the recruiting trail and just kind of, you know, evaluate your own talent.

Scout who you need to scout, I trust your judgment to offer scholarships to these guys and kind of get them in position to, to, you know, kind of see the deal on a commitment where John Calipari signs off on the scholarships and, you know, kind of is the, is the closing man of all of this, I don't think that was necessarily there.

I think when Kenny Payne left the first time around, or I guess when Orlando and T go left the first time around, he still had Kenny Payne to lean on as his, as his, you know, kind of trusty sidekick.

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