Madison - University of Wisconsin guard Kirk Penney circled this date on the schedule some time ago.
Some of the senior's best games have come against
Minnesota, but the sight of the Gophers taking the floor at 7 tonight at the
Kohl Center is not what the man from down under has been looking forward to
since the start of the season.
It will be the sight of his "mum" in the stands.
While Penney's father, Paul, left
"It's just good to have mom here in general and show
her around so she can see what the whole Kohl Center environment is all about
and see what I've been doing with the last four years of my life," Penney
said.
Her timing couldn't be better.
Penney has enjoyed more success against the Gophers' than
almost every team in the conference, and this game will
Maybe she'll bring the Badgers some luck, too.
Wisconsin, picked by various media to finish among the top
four in the conference, needs a victory to protect its home court and avoid its
first 0-3 Big Ten start since 1986-'87 when it lost its first eight and
finished 4-14.
Penney, who leads
He averaged 24.5 points in two victories over
According to
"Most teams have one wing player that they rely on to
shut off the other team's best wing player, for us that is (sophomore) Moe
Hargrow," Monson said. "We've got to find someone else who can guard
on the wing also because Penney and Harris together are such a balanced and
good combination out there."
Penney has done that against the Gophers.
Overall, he is shooting 51% (26 of 51) against them - his
highest percentage against any Big Ten opponent - and is 13 of 32 (41%) from
three-point range. In the last three games against
But when Penney's mother watches him tonight, she'll see
more than a scorer. Penney's biggest improvement has come as a passer. His 50
assists are just five fewer than he had all of last season. And he is also the
only player in the Big Ten among the top ten in scoring, rebounds and assists.
But basketball is just a small part of the visit.
Since classes do not resume until Jan. 21, Penney expects
that the two won't do much beside spending most of the time in his apartment
watching movies. He'll probably get his fill of home cooking, too. Shortly
after she arrived Sunday night, she whipped up a little something in the
kitchen that a day later still put a smile on his face.
"It was just fantastic," Penney said.
The Badgers hope they get some home cooking tonight against
Minnesota. Afterward, Penney and his mother will go back to his apartment and
continue to bond.
A version of this story appeared in the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Jan. 15, 2003.
