The
quick flick of the wrist that launches accurate shots from beyond the 3-point
line is the same. So are the constant wide smile, the mop-top curly hair and
that charming New Zealand accent.
But
there is so much that is different about Kirk Penney since he last suited up
for the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team. And all the changes are
in the positive category as the Badgers' junior guard prepares to be the team's
go-to player this season.
What
is most noticeable is that he's bigger. A summer spent in the weight room and
eating a proper diet has added 30 pounds to Penney's 6-foot-5 frame so that he
now weighs around a very solid 240 pounds.
You
could say Penney is big and strong enough now to carry the Badgers, which, as
the one bona fide star on a rebuilding team, is what he might have to do
frequently.
"It's
always going to be challenging with young guys coming in and a new leader of
the basketball program. I just wanted to make sure I was as prepared as
possible for it," said Penney, who offered proof this summer with some
dazzling performances as the leading scorer for New Zealand at the Goodwill
Games.
Penney
had 23 points in his team's 84-79 upset of silver medalist Brazil and added 21
points against Cuba. He averaged 14.8 points a game as New Zealand finished
sixth in the competition.
Expect
him to be even better with the Badgers. Penney appreciates the possibilities
that are ahead of him and his teammates this season. The offense allows him
more freedom and chances to be creative.
"It
really provides a great feel to play smart basketball," Penney said.
Penney
will have the opportunity to develop more of an inside-outside game. Most
everyone knows he's a deadly 3-point shooter. The team's leading returning
scorer (11.2 per game), Penney also was the Big Ten Conference's leading
3-point shooter with a 47.8 percent average in league games.
But
Penney will be more of a complete player. The offense will allow him to
penetrate more and become more of an assist man. It also will allow him to work
more down low, where he can post up defenders with his bulked-up frame.
"We're
looking for him to get points for us," said UW coach Bo Ryan, who believes
Penney's completeness also will include more trips to the free-throw line.
"The
only way to get to the free-throw line is to put the defense at a disadvantage.
Where do you put the defense at more of a disadvantage? (By getting) closer to
the basket," Ryan added. "So Kirk has developed some strength that
he's now using around the basket. So I'd like to get him to the free-throw
line. I want to get him some looks not just from 19 or 20 (feet), but some
looks from 5 (feet)."
Penney's
added strength also will help him ward off the muscle-bound, athletic defenders
that opponents will deploy on him.
"He's
going to see things that he hasn't quite seen in his career," said UW
assistant coach Tony Bennett. "He's going to be the featured guy and teams
are going to be tagging him, dogging him and putting fresh guys on him. So his
size will help, but he'll be in for some challenges that will be tough."
Bennett,
who first coached Penney when he was living in Auckland, believes Penney is up
for the task because he has that special scorer's mentality. There will be
times when an opponent will shut him down or Penney won't find the range. But
Bennett knows Penney won't be fazed.
Penney
proved that last year when he opened the season with an 0-for-13 shooting
performance in a UW loss at Tennessee. He followed that by making 56 percent of
his shots and averaging 16.2 points over the next five games.
Bennett
used a quote from former NBA star Charles Barkley to prove his point. Bennett
said Barkley once talked about Miami Heat guard Tim Hardaway after he had a
forgettable 0-for-17 performance and said those numbers proved he was a good
shooter.
"Barkley
said, 'You know, if a guy goes 0-for-9 or 0-for-10, you know the guy's not a
player and can't shoot. But if a guy goes 0-for-17, you know he's a shooter and
a player because he's not afraid. He just keeps jacking 'em up,' " Bennett
related. "I thought of Kirk when I heard that. He has the right scoring
mentality. There's no question about it."
Penney
thinks of that Tennessee game from time to time and remembers what he learned
from it.
"I
just felt you can't do any worse, you can only go up from here. And it went
up," he said. "You know you have that drive and you know you're good
enough. It's just having that mentality and going out there and rising above
it.
"I
look back at that game and smile now because I feel I benefited a lot from it.
I really do. I don't want to look at the stat line, but just from the feeling I
went through out there and went through some turmoil. But I just took it from
there."
It
could be that kind of season for the young Badgers, who most likely will face
adversity as they learn and grow. And, within that adversity, a different
Penney will emerge, too. It'll be Penney the leader.
"You
want to try to express how you feel sometimes to players and help them out and
just give them any tips," Penney said as the Badgers continue preparations
for their Nov. 10 exhibition opener against the California All-Stars. "I
think leadership is involved in that, in showing them how to better do
something."
What
the younger Badgers find during discussions with Penney is a scorer who doesn't
hide his enthusiasm for what is ahead for the team if everyone is willing to
listen and learn.
"From
an analytical standpoint, it's very interesting," he said. "I can't
wait to see how teams are going to react to us, what reads we're going to get
and how we'll be able to get what we want to get, how every player will try to
fill in the spots and what players can step out. I'm excited."
Published: 7:58
AM 10/27/01
