Kirk Penney? He has darn near been around the world.
The Badgers have played 19 NCAA tournament games in their
history. Penney has suited up for 10 of them. Seven of them have been
victories.
He is as experienced as they come in the college game. He
isn't the type to let a bad game, even one in the tournament, get under his
skin. Penney is more concerned about his teammates' state of mind than his own.
"You're looking around the room more and seeing how
everyone else is behaving and reacting rather than worrying about yourself," he said. "You've got to have that
self-belief to make sure that everyone is ready. The young guys are ready to go
and then you're ready to play."
Not only does fifth-seeded
It's unlikely the Badgers can advance if Penney endures
another 2-for-12 shooting day, as he did Saturday against
Penney scored a season-low six points in
His final basket came with 16 minutes 48 seconds left and
his final point came with
Yet he was rejuvenated by seeing his teammates spark that
rally.
"It feels like a new life and you want to make the
most of this opportunity that we've been given, being able to advance past that
second game and being able to play a team like
It won't be any easier tonight. The Wildcats, who have won
25 straight games and finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in both polls,
have been known to overwhelm opponents with their defense.
But Penney has a history of rebounding well from poor
offensive games.
Before Saturday, Penney failed to reach double figures four
times this season. In the games that followed, he made 45% of his shots (27 of
60), 43.4% from three-point range and averaged 19 points.
His biggest rebound performances were a 9-for-18, 23-point
performance against
Neither of those squads matches the caliber of
"He's going to be ready," assistant coach Tony
Bennett said. "He's played in so many big games in his career. Seniors. Leadership, you've got to have it now. This is the
time."
"Coach likes to change defenses. That's part of our
game plan,"
That's what lies ahead tonight for Penney, who knows that,
win or lose, the end is near.
It crosses his mind not only while getting dressed but
during his pregame tape job, when he puts on his
shoes and uniform and when he's looking around the locker room at teammates
before the game.
He'll go down as one of the Badgers' all-time greats. His
1,435 points rank sixth all-time. He is the first
He has played in a Final Four, won two Big Ten championships
and has twice reached the Sweet 16.
What else could a player want?
For Penney, the answer is simple: that his next game won't
be the last as a Badger.
"It's been a wonderful career here and you want to it
to go on as long as possible and you want to play with these guys as long as
possible," he said. "No one wants to hang up their jersey and you saw
the fight that every player had in that last game. No one wants to hang up the
jersey. We want to play together as long as possible."
A version of this story appeared in the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on