SODERBERG PONDERS CHANGES IN LINEUP KIRK
PENNEY’S INCONSISTENT SHOOTING MAY LAND HIM ON THE UW BENCH.
Wisconsin State Journal
Madison, Wis.
Dec 28, 2000
While acting head coach Brad Soderberg ponders the University of Wisconsin
men's basketball team's occasional shooting woes, he might be well served by
one interesting statistic concerning his streakiest shooter:
When sophomore guard Kirk Penney is playing within the friendly confines of
the Kohl Center, as he will on Saturday against South Florida, he has an
uncanny shooting eye, hitting 20 of 37 shots overall (54.1 percent). Penney is
even better outside the 3-point line, hitting 10 of 16 tries (62.5 percent).
The subject of Penney came up because he plays a role as a featured shooter
in the UW offense, a subject that concerns Soderberg. He wonders why the
shooting percentages of forwards Andy Kowske and Mark Vershaw are down compared
to last season. He knows he needs consistent contributions from others to
assist guard Roy Boone's steady offensive game of 14.7 points per game. He
wants to see more of forward Maurice Linton, who can aid UW's scoring totals
now that his eight-game Shoe Box suspension has ended.
"I haven't been disappointed with our shot selection with the exception
of an occasional one here or there. We haven't been forcing," Soderberg
said. "But we have to get better at it. If we're content where we are
offensively, we're going to get stung eventually."
Which brings the subject back to Penney. While the 13th-ranked Badgers (8-1)
have been consistent enough to win their last eight games, Penney's shooting
has been up and down more than the NASDAQ. On the road, he is 11-for-47 overall
(23.4 percent) and eight-for-34 (23.5 percent) from beyond the 3-point line.
The search for a solution has Soderberg going bleary-eyed watching tapes. He
is even more mystified by what he sees. He figured after he watched the tape of
Penney's six misfires in the victory over Marquette last Saturday he'd find
something to point out.
"He had to have taken some bad shots, but no," Soderberg said of
his tape session. "He missed a lot of good looks. . . . I don't know. It's
just one of those things."
It's a trend that has Soderberg considering moving Linton into the starting
lineup for Penney.
"For whatever reason, Kirk is not clicking on all cylinders right
now," Soderberg said. "I'm trying to decide whether it's better to
make a change or let him play through it. I don't know. I guess this is my
first tough decision.
"It's hard to make a lineup change when you've won eight in a row. But
I can feel we are not playing as well as we can. Maybe that's a good sign, that
we just keep on winning even though we're not playing well. So maybe I should
let it play itself out."
There is no track record of how sacred a starting lineup is to Soderberg
after six games in which the same five has opened. But his predecessor and
mentor, Dick Bennett, rarely hesitated to juggle his lineup depending on
matchups and a player's recent performances.
One other reason for a lineup change deals directly with the Bulls, who are
8-3 and on a six-game winning streak. They present a matchup problem in
6-foot-8 junior forward B.B. Waldon, who scored 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting
in the Bulls' 66-63 victory over the Badgers last year. Linton, at 6-8, would
be a logical choice to put on Waldon.
"I want to see how Maurice comes along, if he keeps developing,"
Soderberg said. "He would be a logical choice. Obviously, it would make us
physically a better lineup in terms of size."
