Penney on the money in US

Sunday Star – Times; Wellington, New Zealand

Mar 10, 2002

Marc Hinton

TALL BLACKS coach Tab Baldwin has labelled shooting guard Kirk Penney's latest achievement in the United States "unbelievable" and welcome news as he starts to put together his world championship puzzle.

Penney, in his junior year with the University of Wisconsin Badgers, has just been named to the Big Ten All-Conference lineup after leading the side to the Big Ten championship and top seed in the conference tournament.

Penney is the first Badger to achieve the honour (just five players are chosen from the 10 teams) since Michael Finley in 1993. Finley is now a star with the Dallas Mavericks and among the NBA's highest paid athletes.

Despite Penney's team-high 19 points in yesterday's quarter- final, his team bowed out 58-56 to Iowa, but should still start in this month's NCAA tournament.

Penney led the Badgers in scoring with 15 points a game (pitching in five rebounds as well) and had a strong finish to the season. He had eight 20-point-plus efforts in one of the US's strongest conferences.

"For him to make first team all-conference is just unbelievable," said Baldwin.

"The best way to explain it is to draw the correlation with Sean Marks (the only Kiwi to make the NBA, currently with the Miami Heat). He didn't achieve that sort of thing and the Big Ten is a lot stronger than the Pac 10 in which Sean played.

"To be named as one of the top five players in the conference and the best in his position is not just a great honour, but bodes well for his future."

And with Penney likely to be a key figure in the Tall Blacks' world championship campaign in Indianapolis later in the year Baldwin confessed confirmation of his guard's hot form comes as a relief. Especially given the latest piece of bad news concerning his globetrotting players.

Centre Tony Rampton, playing for the Cairns Taipans in Australia's NBL, has been beset by ankle troubles since December and last week underwent surgery in an attempt to regain full fitness in time to participate in the world champs buildup.

Baldwin admitted Rampton's injury was a concern. The former Nelson centre will not play the domestic Kiwi season but hopes to be ready for the first Tall Blacks camp in May.

There has been better news on the other major injury front, with Victoria Titans point guard Mark Dickel apparently over his calf muscle troubles and back on court in the Australian NBL. Dickel had been in sensational form prior to tearing his calf, posting back-to- back double-doubles (double-figures in points and assists) and impressing Australian observers.

Baldwin was reasonably content otherwise with his overseas-based players' form and fitness.

Pero Cameron has impressed for Chester in England and Phill Jones overcame a mid-season switch of teams in Finland to post his usual solid shooting statistics.

Marks has had little or no court time with the Heat in the NBA but should benefit, at least, from the practice environment.