Orlando "Hurricane" Antigua

Monday, March 05, 2001

By Marylynn Uricchio, Post-Gazette SEEN Editor

Orlando "Hurricane" Antigua is one of the most popular players for the 75-year-old Harlem Globetrotters, and the first Latino to be on the team. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in the Bronx, he was 14 when a bullet from a drive-by shooting lodged in his brain. Despite being homeless with his family while a senior in high school, Antigua earned All-City, All-State, McDonald's All -America and All-League basketball honors. He went on to play for Pitt, where he was voted most-courageous player by the U.S. Basketball Writers. Antigua will be honored at Pitt's College of General Studies Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner on Friday at the Rivers Club. Call 412-624-6608 for tickets.

Q. Do you still have a bullet in your head?

A. No, I have it at home. It's in a little plastic jar. My daughter likes playing with it, shaking the jar. When I initially got shot, the doctors were set to operate on me twice but decided to leave it in because they thought it would do more damage to pull it out. They said the body would naturally push the foreign object to a place where it could be easily extracted. It took six years, but it migrated to my ear canal and they were able it pull it out. I am unleaded now.

Q. Did it set off metal detectors at the airport?

A. No, it didn't ring because it was lead.

Q. Were there any psychological effects from the shooting?

A. Yes, truly, it helped me to appreciate my family and friends and life in general. It changed my outlook. I don't tend to worry. I try to go with the flow and enjoy my time because I know it's limited. We should try to use our time to help people. That's why I'm happy about the job I have. I continue to play the sport I love at the highest level, and at the same time I'm influencing people, especially kids, in a positive way, and they pay me to do this!

Q. The Globetrotters' three teams play 250 games a year and travel to 11 countries. How do you manage that?

A. I enjoy it. The only downside to it is being away from family. It takes being married to a strong woman.

Q. If the Chicago Bulls had come knocking the same day as the Globetrotters, would it have been a tough choice?

A. Yes. It would have definitely been a tough decision. Obviously, for monetary reasons the NBA has a lot more to offer, but as far as what the Globetrotters offer, you can't put a price tag on the experiences. If I had been with a team like the Chicago Bulls, I would not have had the experience of meeting Nelson Mandela in a free and democratic South Africa and performing for him on his birthday.

Q. Are you going to continue playing college teams?

A. Yes. We've been doing this the last couple of years, the College World Series of Basketball where we play the top college seniors going out, getting ready for the NBA. This year we added playing universities in the preseason. We've actually lost only one time -- that was to Michigan State, which happened to be the Division 1 national champion.

Q. What has being the first Latino in the Globetrotters meant to you?

A. To me it's meant just being able to leave my mark on Globetrotters' history. I appreciate the fact that [coach and owner] Manny Jackson gave me an opportunity not because I was Latino, but because I was a skilled basketball player who had a little bit of personality, and he didn't look at anything else but that.

Q. Some people accuse the Globetrotters of being a little Uncle Tommish, perhaps because some of the shtick dates way back.

A. Manny Jackson has changed the team so much in six years. We've always been on the cutting edge, the innovators of basketball throughout history. Combining the athleticism of the players now with the coaching staff we have headed by Charles Harrison, we've been able to keep everything new and fresh. But there are some things Globetrotter fans expect to see at our games, and if we tried to change them, they would give us a lot of flak. It's like going to a McDonald's. You want to see a Big Mac. Regardless of how many time you've eaten one, how many other new things they've added, you want to know there's still a Big Mac at McDonald's.

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