DREAMS KEEP PENNEY BUSY
Madison Capital Times
Aug 10, 2000
Kirk Penney wasn't worried about being voted off the island.
It was much worse than that.
Penney was worried about being voted off the team: New Zealand's Olympic
basketball team.
"They (the coaches) went into one room and we went into another and it
was a real emotional time," confided Penney, who will be a University of
Wisconsin sophomore. "We had 21 players and only 12 would be selected.
What is it?"
Penney paused to do the math, subtracted and added, "Nine players were
going to miss out on the Olympics. How huge was that for them? That was really
tough."
And it got tougher.
"The coach went through the team, position by position," recalled
Penney, whose anxiety reached a zenith when he didn't hear his name through the
first 11 selections. "It was like, `Hang on there for a second.' "
He paused, sighed and said, "I was the last guy to be announced. And I
was really jubilant, really happy. I'm one step closer."
To a dream come true.
His second in six months.
Imagine that.
Penney tried in short bursts.
"Nineteen," he said of his age.
"Final Four," he said of his American dream come true.
"Now, the Olympics," he said of his New Zealand dream come true.
"I'm truly blessed," he concluded, shaking his head, "and
thankful, for sure."
Since Wisconsin's appearance in the Final Four, Penney hasn't stopped moving
for long.
As soon as the spring semester ended in Madison, he moved back home -
Auckland, New Zealand - and hooked up with the North Habor Kings, his former
professional league team.
When Penney wasn't practicing or playing for the Kings, he was practicing and
auditioning for the Olympic team, which traveled to Sydney, Australia - the
site of the 2000 Summer Games - and Taiwan, China, for tournaments.
Two weeks ago, he returned to the United States and Madison, where the
Badgers have been practicing twice daily in preparation for their two-week
exhibition tour of northern Italy and Slovenia. They will leave Friday.
"Now that we're getting closer to it," he said Wednesday,
"I'm really excited because it's someplace I've always wanted to go. I've
developed a huge interest in architecture. That's my major, landscape
architecture, and I can't wait to see Rome and Venice."
The Badgers will return to Madison in late August, and Penney estimated that
he will have about one day to unpack and do his laundry before packing again
and taking off for New Zealand.
"My air points are running up," he said of his frequent flyer
miles. "I've got to have a few."
New Zealand opens Olympic play on Sept. 17 against France. The other pool
opponents are China, Italy, Lithuania and ...
The Dream Team III.
"Oh, my goodness," cooed Penney, who has circled Sept. 23 on his
calendar, "it's going to be so much fun playing against them."
Them would include Ray Allen, Jason Kidd, Tim Hardaway, Steve Smith, Allan
Houston, Gary Payton, Vince Carter, Alonzo Mourning, Vin Baker, Shareef
Abdur-Rahim and Kevin Garnett.
Team USA also is negotiating to add either Tim Duncan or Shaquille O'Neal to
the roster.
Oh, my goodness.
"For me, back home," Penney said, "it's the greatest honor
you can have to wear the Silver Fern, which is our national symbol, on your
chest. There's so much pride that comes with that because you've grown up
watching all the national teams compete.
"Over here, obviously, it's not very big. Back home, though, it's
pretty huge. It's as big as it comes. It's like, `Wow, you're representing New
Zealand.' "
The natives put more stock in playing in the Olympics than they would
playing in a Final Four.
"Over there," he said wistfully, "the people don't understand
what it's like over here."
Some do.
Especially since two prominent members of Team New Zealand have collegiate
experience. Mark Dickel played at UNLV and Sean Marks at the University of
California. Dickel, Marks and Penney all have definied roles, too.
"Our coach's philosophy is equal minutes, so everybody plays exactly
the same," Penney said. "The older players start it off and we come
off the bench."
Penney had a similar role during his freshman season at Wisconsin. He
appeared in 34 games, starting six, and averaged 12.7 minutes and 3.7 points.
"He's so much better in all areas," UW coach Dick Bennett said of
Penney's rapid development this summer alone. "He looks more confident.
And he's improving the way you would think a person should.
"Ironically, at least we were told, that he's regarded as their best
defensive player on the Olympic team. That one - I must admit - caused a bit of
a chuckle, although he has improved."
Penney also chuckled.
"Over there, I'm fairly good," he pointed out. "And I come
over here and I'm mediocre."
Nobody is questioning his defense as much as they are questioning his
ambitious schedule and the prospect that he might be "burned out" by
the time the Badgers open their season.
Last season, Penney hit the wall during second-half play in the Big Ten. He
went flat in February.
"For sure, I did," he agreed. "But just having experienced it
and knowing what it's like is going to be a huge factor in making sure that I
don't burn out."
Seriously, that will help?
"I'm going to be pumped, seriously," said Penney, who has received
an NCAA waiver for the Olympics, allowing him to maintain his college
eligibility since he won't be enrolled as a full-time student during the first
semester.
"I've made a commitment to New Zealand to be there for the duration of
the Olympics. And I've made a commitment to Wisconsin to get back here as soon
as possible. I'll be back before Oct. 5th.
"At the moment, I'm focused so much on the Olympics, I can't wait. But
when the time comes to play college ball, well, not much is better than college
basketball."
Nineteen, Final Four, Olympics.
It doesn't get much better.
For sure.
