Madison - Either Kirk Penney could use some rest or the native of New
Zealand is an iron man.
The University of Wisconsin freshman estimates that he has played
competitively for at least the last year and a half. A native of Auckland, he
has shuffled from playing on a club team, to the national team, to Madison
where he started in school in August and soon thereafter began working out with
the Badgers.
That's a lot of basketball, even for someone coach Dick Bennett called
'rugby tough' earlier this season.
Penney's scoring average has dipped to 3.7 points per game. That average is significantly
lower than the 10 points per game he averaged during a six-game stint in the
starting lineup between Jan. 15 and Feb. 2.
Penney emerged from the bench because of his ability to score, either from
outside or by putting the ball on the floor and getting to the basket.
But his shooting percentage wasn't impressive. In six starts, he shot 36.8%
and was 21.4% (6 of 28) from three-point range. For the season, he is shooting
32.6% overall and 28.4% from three-point range.
Roy Boone's emergence and then Duany Duany's re-emergence have cut into
Penney's minutes. He is averaging 1.5 points and 7.1 minutes per game in the 14
games since Wisconsin caught fire.
Fatigue, Penney said, isn't a problem even though most freshmen hit a wall
during their first college season.
"I think I've been OK," he said. "I wouldn't put it down to
that but I would put it down to being a part of the program and not being used
to it.
"This is so much more intense and you're putting in hours every day
whereas back home you'd play, have a day off, play. It was just more
relaxed."
This year, Penney has played 23 minutes in the tournament. He best showing
was a five-point, 12-minute showing against Louisiana State in the third round.
"Now I'm just enjoying the experience," he said. "It's great
to be a part of this."
Penney doesn't figure to get much rest during the off-season. As one of his
country's top players, he is a member of New Zealand's Olympic team.
"I'm on the team but I've got to re-try out in June because everybody
does," Penney said. "I'm going back in May for that and if it works
out we'll go on tours to Taiwan and Australia, and then the Olympics in
Sydney."
The Olympics are scheduled for September, which will cut into his class
schedule. But Penney anticipates missing little, if any, practice time with the
Badgers.
"I'll miss at least a month, so I can only take six credits next
semester," Penney said. "That's the way it works outs. You've got to
sacrifice something. I think it's worth it."
