PENNEY HAS COME LONG WAY QUICKLY NEW ZEALANDER DRAWS MORE TIME
Madison Capital Times

Dec 7, 1999

Rob Schultz

Kirk Penney is a young man of many talents.

It's not uncommon to walk into the UW basketball locker room and see a drawing that the Badgers' freshman guard scribbled on the board before or after practice. Penney He's always doodling, whether it's something to do with landscape architecture or basketball.

"He's a pretty good artist," said fellow freshman and roommate Julian Swartz.

Penney will draw something new tonight when the Badgers (4-2) take on 10th-ranked Texas (4-1) at the Kohl Center. But it has nothing to do with art. The New Zealand native has drawn an assignment as one of the Badgers' first guards off the bench as UW coach Dick Bennett searches for some quality minutes from his reserves. That mission must be completed if the Badgers hope to triumph this week when they play three games in five days.

The Badgers play UW-Green Bay Wednesday night at the Kohl Center. They travel to play South Florida in Tampa Saturday night.

"I think he has moved himself to the head of the class as our first outside (guard) replacement," said Bennett, who watched Penney score 8 points in 13 minutes during the Badgers' 66-43 win over Rhode Island last Friday.

That assignment, of course, suits Penney just fine. His improvement has all been part of the transition from leaving his New Zealand home and moving to Wisconsin.

"To tell the truth, it hasn't been too bad," Penney said. "I can talk to my parents and talk to my family. And my brother (Rodd) is coming over and it's going to be awesome to see my family. It's really exciting."

Penney spent his first Thanksgiving at the Illinois home of teammate Charlie Wills' family. They also traveled to Indiana, where Wills grew up, to spend some time with Wills' grandparents.

"I thought I'd feel out of place, like going to Thanksgiving especially, but they really did welcome me, which was awesome," said Penney, who will spend Christmas with Swartz's family in Waukesha.

On the court, Penney's transition hasn't been as easy. At first, Penney struggled on defense. He had to learn how to run through a myriad of screens while guarding players who are taller, quicker and more athletic. Until he learned, he rarely played.

"Back home, there's no 6-6, 6-8 lanky, quick explosive guys that you have here," said Penney, who played for a New Zealand team coached by Dick Bennett's son, Tony. The league, which included older professionals, named Penney as its rookie of the year last season.

"Also back home, I think the game is more fakes and there isn't as much exploding and getting by guys. Playing with men, there are obviously a lot of strong guys. There are also strong guys here, but (at home) they are strong with age and experience."

Penney has toiled for hours after practice working to make himself better. And Bennett says Penney has finally established himself as a good defender.

"If you watch him, he's a smart defender," Bennett said. "We've noticed that development in the past week or so, two weeks perhaps. That gave us the confidence to use him."

Bennett believes Penney's offensive skills are among the best on the team.

"He's very sound. He has that presence about him, that poise," Bennett said. "You can see it when you watch players. His shot wasn't falling, but you don't judge a shooter until he's taken a few shots, not just on any given night where he might take two or three or four shots. You judge a shooter on the long haul."

Bennett plans to use Penney at shooting guard in a three-forward lineup. He also might use him as the third guard when he goes with just two forwards. That will force Penney to play against stronger forwards. It's a battle Bennett believes Penney can win.

"He's naturally strong," Bennett said. "As Tony says, he's rugby strong. I don't know of tougher athletes than rugby players. He's got that mentality."

Bennett's statement drew a laugh from Penney, who played rugby until he was 14 or 15 and started focusing on basketball.

"I know my brother is a good (rugby) player and I aspire to be like him," Penney said.

Penney doesn't care where Bennett uses him. He just wants to play, and he's excited about playing back-to-back games tonight and Wednesday.

"This is good, just to get a good dose of basketball," he said. "I'm not sure how my time will go. I'll just play it by ear, and if I get a chance, I'll go for it."

One other transition Penney has had to make is playing in front of bigger crowds.

"From where I come from, the maximum crowd would be 2,000. The average crowd would be 1,200. That's totally different from the 15,000 we get in here," Penney said of the Kohl Center.

At first, Penney thought the bigger crowds would affect him, especially after watching the Big Ten Tournament at the huge United Center in Chicago last March. But that changed after playing in the Kohl Center.

"I don't think it's a big deal at all," he said. "The fans are really good because they are really into it and really get after it, especially the Wisconsin fans. It's awesome to play in front of them. It's a real honor, it really is."

The best part about it is that he feels comfortable playing in front of the home folks now - even if "home" is on the other side of his world.

"I don't feel as lost and I have a little more confidence in knowing where I am," he said, referring to his on-court presence. "But I still have so much further to go."