Madison - Kirk Penney said he felt good, but relative to what?
The junior guard fought two viral infections in the last two weeks. The second
left him bed-ridden for the three days before the University of Wisconsin's
victory over Minnesota on Wednesday.
So when Penney said he was feeling better this week, you had to wonder if he
remembered what feeling good felt like. He still looked a little pale and,
either from the workout or the medication, Penney's voice seemed to drag a bit
at times.
And his friends are right. He does look a bit thinner.
But don't worry. In the last three games, Penney has shown that even when
he's not at full strength, he is a factor.
A sick Penney still managed to averaged 15.3 points and led the Badgers in
scoring twice, against Penn State (17 points) and Minnesota (19). He had 10
last Saturday in Wisconsin's victory at Michigan State.
His four free throws during the final minute of the Minnesota game sealed a
73-64 victory.
"It's part of the game. You've just got to try to keep focused and not
think about how you feel," said Penney, who averages a team-high 14.8
points per game. "Free throws are the one thing that can determine that.
I'm glad I made them because that is a focus thing."
At 1:30 this afternoon at the Kohl Center, an even healthier Penney faces a
Purdue team that has something to prove. The Boilermakers (9-10, 1-4) are off
to their worst Big Ten start since 1965-'66 primarily because of one of the
worst defenses in the conference.
In Big Ten games, Purdue ranks 10th in the league in field goal percentage
defense (53.6%), 10th in defending the three (42.7%) and allows a league-high
77 points per game.
Purdue coach Gene Keady has often reminded his players of their shortcomings
in that part of the game.
"We shoot 34.5% and they shoot 49.1%, so it's the same story all year:
no pride on defense," Keady said Wednesday after a 65-56 loss to Michigan
State. "There's no fight, and there's no way to stop people."
Penney's play continues a trend of UW players who have played well despite
illness and injury:
Penney's illness didn't affect his playing time. He averaged 31 minutes in
the last three games, slightly less than the 31.6 he averaged before the bug.
The pace of the college game has helped. Each half includes four television timeouts,
so there are plenty of opportunities to rest.
"He did a very good job of being efficient and conserving at the right
times," Ryan said of Penney. "As coaches we always say, 'Hey there is
never a time to relax.' But Kirk did a good job because the guy he was guarding
really wasn't making a lot of cuts and really didn't chase him around a
bit."
Penney participated in full workouts Thursday and Friday, looking better the
second day than the first. However, even before Friday he thought the worst was
over.
"I have to think that," he said. "I'm good. I'm ready to
go."
That said, Penney went home and went to bed.
Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Jan. 19,
2002.
