BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
Featured in Varsity Magazine
Taken from the Kohl Center catwalk, high above the scrum of fans who had stormed the court, the photograph centered on the unbridled ecstasy of Kirk Penney, who appeared to be floating on air.
"I remember Alando (Tucker) and Deandre (Buchanan) on either side of me," Penney said of his Wisconsin teammates who were propping him up on their shoulders. "And I remember leaning back."
Eyes closed, it was as if Penney didn't want to wake from a dream after the Badgers had clinched the outright 2003 Big Ten championship by edging Illinois on a clutch Devin Harris free throw.
"It really was a special moment because that was my last home game," Penney said. "You're so happy you've won and it's almost a relief because the stage was set and you want to fulfill the journey.Â
"When I saw it (the photo), it was like, 'My moment.'"
There have been many other cherished basketball moments, whether it was playing on a Final Four team as a freshman or representing New Zealand in two Olympics and four World Championships.
Along the way, Penney made some history by becoming the first UW player to be named first-team All-Big Ten in back-to-back seasons since the late Ab Nicholas pulled off the feat in 1951 and 1952.
It all added up to a Hall of Fame career for Penney, who accounted for 1,454 points; a high percentage of which were from beyond the 3-point arc in the 127 games that he played for the Badgers.
Only Ben Brust (235) and Tim Locum (227) made more triples than Penney (217).
"Like a lot of athletes, the response is, 'Are you sure? Are you sure you made the right decision?'" Penney posed incredulously of his HOF selection. "I'm very flattered.
"I guess it just makes you think of your time at Wisconsin and how thankful I was to be a part of some really good teams with some outstanding coaches and really good players."
In sum, he played for three head coaches: Dick Bennett, Brad Soderberg and Bo Ryan. (Soderberg was technically an interim coach after Bennett retired three games into the 2001 season.)
Penney played alongside of such stalwarts as Tucker, Harris, Mike Kelley, Mark Vershaw, Andy Kowske, Jon Bryant, Roy Boone, Mike Wilkinson, Freddie Owens, Charlie Wills and so many more.
"When you're so far from the States and waking up at 5 a.m. (in New Zealand) to watch college basketball," he said, flashing back to his youth, "you want to be a part of it one day more than anything.
"I suppose you wonder if you can do it. You wonder if you're good enough. You wonder if you're going to get the opportunity. A lot of things have to line up. I felt real lucky to be at Wisconsin."
"I was so lucky to have older players who were good leaders and to be a part of a hard-working, honest culture that was growing in success."
Tony Bennett was in New Zealand for less than a year when he got his first glimpse of Penney, then, a raw 14-year-old basketball prodigy.
Bennett, the former UW-Green Bay sharpshooter, was running a camp in Auckland, the country's largest city, and Penney, an old hand at rugby and cricket, was among the hopefuls.
Bennett, who played three years in the NBA, had an eye for talent. But he barely paid attention to Penney, though it was clear that he was among the better players who had showed up for the camp.
A few years later, a North Island native who had been helping develop Penney's skills contacted Bennett and asked if he would be willing to critique Penney's overall game.
At the time, Bennett was playing for and coaching a professional team in Auckland. Maybe it was out of curiosity to see how far Penney had developed, but he accommodated the request.
After watching Penney battle one of his pro league teammates one-on-one – inadvertently giving him a bloody nose – Bennett wanted to see more. So he took the court and challenged Penney.
After a few minutes, Bennett also walked away bloodied by a Penney elbow.
Bennett later invited Penney to practice with his team (the Burger King Kings) since the high school competition in New Zealand was suspect and Penney often dominated players his own age.
While scrimmaging, Bennett and Penney collided – leaving Bennett with a broken nose. That was his first impression of Penney: he played hard and he wasn't afraid to compete with older men.
Tony Bennett, who was just getting starting in the coaching profession, wrote up a scouting report and filled in the blanks on Penney for his dad, Dick Bennett, the UW head coach.
"There aren't many kids his size and age that stroke the ball like he does," he informed him. "He's not your high-flying athletic, slasher. But when his feet are set, he's a beautiful shooter.
"If you penetrate and kick, he's automatic. That's a nice weapon to have."
And the Badgers were definitely looking for a scorer after managing just 32 points in an NCAA first-round loss to Southwest Missouri State. Penney fit the bill, mate. He could stroke the ball.
"From a young age, I always enjoyed shooting," Penney acknowledged. "I remember doing shooting games with my brother (Rodd) and playing one-on-one with him.
"He played 10 years of professional rugby and when we played, he kind of kicked my butt. But when we'd shoot, I'd win and when you beat your older brother in something, you stick to it."
Penney had no qualms about making the jump to Wisconsin after his apprenticeship with the North Harbour Kings, a semi-pro outfit with a smattering of experienced national team players.
"It was wonderful preparation," Penney said. "You were playing against 30-year-old men and to have them throw you around a little bit, you felt like you were more prepared for the Big Ten."
Penney thus made the 8,000-plus mile trek from Auckland to Madison where he joined a Wisconsin recruiting class that included Julian Swartz, Dave Mader and Roy Boone, a junior college transfer.
As a freshman, Penney experienced the ultimate high on an overachieving team that made an improbable March run to the Final Four. He was a role player who largely came off the bench.
"I was so lucky to have older players who were good leaders," Penney said, "and to be a part of a hard-working, honest culture that was growing in success.
"I just think it was a process for me – adjusting to playing at this high level, adjusting to practices that were much harder than I had done before against a level of athlete that was better.
"You come in every day and you work hard and you hope that you can find success. There were a lot of milestones, but not one turning point."
Penney went on to play for New Zealand in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics. He also sparked the Kiwis to a fourth-place finish in the 2002 FIBA World Championships.
"It's such an honor," he said, "representing your country on the national stage, especially when you're from a smaller country like New Zealand and you're going against the giants.
"In all four World Cups, we advanced. We don't have the same amount of players to choose from like a lot of countries, but if we can get 9 or 10, we can have a great crack at it.
"I absolutely loved my time playing for New Zealand and putting on the black jersey (No. 6). It's a neat place to be from and a beautiful country."
Kirk and his wife Audra live in Takapuna, a suburb on the north shore of Auckland. Audra Jeffers was the captain of the 2008 Wisconsin volleyball team and has played on the professional beach circuit.
The Penneys, who have a young daughter (Olivia), spend a lot of time traveling between New Zealand and Wisconsin. Kirk Penney, 35, finished work on his UW undergraduate degree this summer.
"Like I've said to friends, 'It has been kind of a monkey on my back that has grown into a gorilla,'" he admitted. "It's just so nice to think that you're finishing something that you started."
Although Penney, a landscape architecture major, retired from international competition last spring, he signed a three-year deal to return to the SKYCITY Breakers of the New Zealand pro league.
Because of that commitment, he will not be able to attend the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Madison. Instead, he will pass along his thoughts and his thank-yous in a video.
"I'm really bummed because I would have loved to be here – it's such an honor for me and my family," said Penney who will, no doubt, thank one person in particular for making it all happen.
"Tony and (wife) Laurel Bennett introduced me to the state of Wisconsin let alone the University of Wisconsin," he said. "Tony was a huge impact on my life and we remain close to this day."
Bennett, the University of Virginia head coach, knows enough now about Penney not to get too close. It's the best way to avoid a bloody nose.
