Penney hopeful for Tall Blacks
It’s very important I’m right for next season. I’m a free agent and you just want everything to be in the right place before you go into your next contract.
KIRK Penney is backing the Tall Blacks to find a way to make a run at an Olympic spot, even without his presence for the qualifying tournament in Caracas.
As revealed in the Fairfax Sunday papers last week, Penney has withdrawn from the Tall Blacks upcoming campaign that will culminate in the Venezuela showdown (July 2-8) where the final three spots for London will be decided.
He picked up a calf injury late in his season with Baloncesto Fuenlabrada in Spain, and has not made a sufficient enough recovery to commit to an off-season playing international hoops.
In a tournament packed full of premier teams from Europe and South America, the Tall Blacks would have had their work cut out, even with their world-class perennial leading scorer Penney.
But without him many believe the New Zealanders will have no show of a top-three finish.
It’s fair to say Penney, who is back in New Zealand for a short break, doesn’t subscribe to that theory.
‘‘In this tournament in particular there will be a little bit of luck involved in terms of the crossovers, especially if there’s upsets,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve broken it down in my mind trying to figure how we could do it, and there’s a great chance. It’s just being in good form. The timing of it’s really weird, it’s in the very middle of everyone’s off-season.
‘‘I’m thinking no one’s going to be in great form and if we can find a good rhythm leading in, you just never know. It’s one of those situations where you say ‘all right let’s just play the best basketball we can, try to be there late in games and hope things go our way’.’’ Penney said it had been an agonising decision to bypass a season with so much riding on it, but in the end it was a call he felt he had to make.
‘‘I need to get my body right,’’ he said of a torn calf muscle that recurred after he attempted a lateseason return in Spain. ‘‘Then it was ‘all right, my body is speaking to me, I’m going to have to shut it down’. I’ve been rehabbing it and getting it right, but the calf just takes a while to come right. ‘‘It’s very important I’m right for next season. I’m a free agent and you just want everything to be in the right place before you go into your next contract.’’
Penney said he had no firm offers in front of him yet for next season, but was confident something would pan out over the next month or two. He would like to return to Spain, but understands he may have to make a move.
The New Zealander was fifth leading scorer overall in the highly regarded ACB league at 14.4 points a game.
But he admitted to some frustrations at the unsettled nature of his Fuenlabrada team who chopped and changed personnel all season and finished 16th out of 18 teams with a 12-22 record.
‘‘I’ll just see what opportunities arise,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve been in this situation before playing in Europe. It was very nice playing with the Breakers knowing where you were going to be, knowing you have a contract.
‘‘But now I’m back in this ballpark and you just watch and wait.’’ Penney said the NBA was now ‘‘off the radar’’ as he and his wife Audra, who is a professional volleyballer, look for somewhere they can both play.
The Penneys are back in New Zealand for a fortnight and will then head to the United States for the remainder of the off-season.