TRANSCRIPT: Orlando Antigua Recaps Kentucky's Bahamas Tour

Orlando Antigua stepped into the head coaching role for Kentucky’s final game in the Bahamas and brought home another W, a 98-74 victory over the Bahamas National Select Team. Afterward, he met with reporters on the scene at the Baha Mar and those of us watching at home on Zoom to recap the game and Kentucky’s 4-0 exhibition tour.

On Antonio Reeves:

He got it going. I think what you saw is what we preach all the time. When someone’s got it going, the rest of the guys are fully aware and they want to keep feeding that guy. He’s demonstrated that in practice throughout the summer, that he can get going pretty quickly.

On Reeves’ defense and how open he is to coaching:

He’s a phenomenal kid, young man. I don’t know it’s been asked of him, but it’s being asked of him now, to make him a well-rounded player, he’s going to have to continue doing what he’s been doing for us defensively. Now, obviously, we’ve got a lot of video we can utilize to teach him when we get back to school and get back in the gym and start working.

On if it was good for this team to be challenged in the first half:

It was. You had a combination of things. Quick turnaround from last night, a game where you’re shooting lights-out to a noon game against a veteran, experienced team that was going to be very physical. Last night, we huddled up and showed them some clips of the team because we knew we weren’t going to walk through this morning and we were expecting that — the staff was expecting it. And we wanted to see that, how were they going to respond? How are we going to be when we’ve got some stress? Are we going to splinter or are we going to come together? And the guys came together. And you know what? I’ve got to give Sahvir [Wheeler] a lot of credit. Sahvir not only stepped up on the court, he stepped up vocally and with his leadership.

On whether or not Kentucky has played a guy with a gray beard before:

Yeah, I think maybe me and [Bruiser Flint] in practice. No, no, we haven’t.

On if the team was jarred by the Bahamas team’s physicality?

They were physically jarred by that. A couple of times. And we showed them clips of that. They knew it mentally but physically, it takes a little time to get going and those guys are pros. They’re playing in professional leagues throughout the world and they know how to play and we just knew we needed to keep the pressure on. We had to defend better, we had to rotate better, we had to rebound the ball better, we can get in transition. And early on, they did a great job of cutting, they were getting extra passes. Some of the offensive schemes they were trying to counteract our defensive schemes, which was pretty good. We made a few adjustments and needed to get out in transition so we could get into their legs and I think in the second half, we were able to see a little bit of that.

On whether or not Jacob Toppin is a go-to scorer:

One of the things that Cal talked to Jacob about was, he wanted to see how he was going to play in this kind of environment, in this kind of a game, with the physicality of the game. I’m proud of him. He stepped up. He made some plays. Early on, I think he was settling a lot for just the threes and we said, we drive the ball. We like threes, but we love getting to the free-throw line, we love getting to the basket, we love dunks. We like the threes after the ball has touched the paint and get it out. And then he started driving, getting fouled, started driving, getting physical and holding our ground, making extra passes after we’ve gotten paint touches and things opened up for us in the second half.

On if this was an ideal trip, three games to grow confidence followed by a test?

I thought it was an unbelievable trip. For the team bonding aspect of it, the competitive side of it. And you know what? From the practices, doing th things we were able to do. We were able to see some different lineups and try a couple of different things, defensive schemes. Kept it pretty basic offensively but it was a very positive week. Few weeks. So, we’ve enjoyed being in paradise, we’ve enjoyed the weather and the resort and all that stuff but we’re really happy to be getting home.

On Jacob Toppin’s improvement:

Just the stuff that he’s worked on all spring and summer has translated now to competitive games. Playing lower, playing through contact. Playing through the first initial physical bump against a defense, which he showed today. Being able to make some shots in transition when he’s open. His post-up game, long post, turnaround jump shots. Just all the things he’s been working on, to see it against other competition in a competitive atmosphere is what you want. Now, he’s going to continue it and continue building to get ready for the seaosn.

On whether there were any question marks answered on the trip, things to work on moving forward, or surprises:

Obviously, we were excited about impact that Adou [Thiero] had on the team, in the minutes that he played. He’d been working through some growing pains throughout the summer, on and off. Happy about what CJ [Fredrick] was able to accomplish in his process right now. Just, obviously happy to see Antonio [Reeves] do what we know he’s capable of doing and for you all to get a chance to see it. Obviously, Chris [Livingston] and Cason [Wallace] have been phenomenal and the growth of Daimion [Collins] has shown, it’s been pretty exciting. Pretty exciting for all those guys individually and collectively, to see it together. Seeing it starting to gel, seeing the chemistry start to form and build, which is, we’re going to need that.

On Daimion Collins’ dunking range:

He’s like Inspector Gadget with his go-go arms there. Not only does he jump but did you see how long his arms are? It’s like dropping it from the ceiling.

On what makes Sahvir Wheeler so good, the way he reads the game and his teammates and his defense on this trip:

I saw a lot of great things from him. He went up against big guards, he went up against veteran guards, he went up against savvy guards and he continued to play the way he plays but he puts immense pressure on guards and wears them down. Cason is learning from him in that way. He does a great job in our schemes of snapping on the defensive schemes and using his physicality and his arm length to cause problems and his teammates are able to get in the passing lanes and get some steals, some deflections, and those kinds of things. He’s the point of the spear for us defensively and you’ve got the best point guard in the country leading the team and defending the way he has, it’s great.