Penney is the retiring type after all
After the tears had dried and Kirk Penney had moved on from the more emotional aspects of his retirement press conference, we got a glimpse of the burning resolve that has made him one of New Zealand’s finest basketballers.
All sides of this global hoops superstar were on show as he officially announced yesterday he would be hanging up his Nike hightops at the end of this Australian NBL season (a year ahead of schedule).
There was the raw unfiltered emotion as he choked up talking about the death of his father Paul last October; the pure pride and joy around the privileged position of finishing his career "full circle" at the club that had always meant most to him; and then finally the steely determination that he can turn the upcoming playoffs into a "fairytale finish".
At 37, and on the back of a season dogged by back and calf injuries, not to mention the death of his father that cut him to the core, the decision comes as no surprise. But it will be no less impactful around the close-knit Kiwi hoops scene.
Penney has been playing highlevel basketball since he was a teenage phenomenon for North Harbour in the New Zealand NBL, logging a storied NCAA career at Wisconsin (1999-2003), making two all-too-brief appearances in the NBA, and playing professionally in Spain, Israel, Lithuania, Germany, Turkey, New Zealand and Australia, as well as the US.
He also represented the Tall Blacks for 17 years and was a major part of some of the finest moments in this country’s history, including the magical fourth-place finish at the 2002 world championships in Indianapolis.
He is, without a doubt, in the starting five of this country’s hoops finest, probably alongside Stan Hill, Pero Cameron, Phill Jones and Steven Adams. And now, whenever the Breakers’ upcoming playoff run concludes, it will end a 19-year career of college and professional hoops.
‘’I love the thought of that fairytale finish and will be addressing the guys about it," he said, confirming he would be "100 percent" fit after sitting out the last part of the regular season.
"I’m really happy to have an impact on it, and I’m not some geriatric on the bench waving my towel. I hope to play at the highest level, and use all the experience I’ve got. f we don’t win I know it doesn’t define anything, but boy I’d love to win."
That’s the competitor that Breakers GM and long-time teammate Dillon Boucher remembers seeing as a youngster at the NSEC practising his dribbling in a corner while all the other kids were out hoisting up three-point shots.
"He’s always had this professionalism about him," recalled Boucher. "He knew what he needed to do to get to the top. He’s one of the best pros ever to do it in this country, but he didn’t just fall upon this sport because he was a naturally gifted athlete. He grafted and found a way to maximise his potential."
Penney, who still had a year to run on his Breakers contract, said the seeds of retirement were first sown in the wake of his father’s death.
"It was really a challenge for me in some ways to even keep playing," he said, tears welling up.
"He was just a massive support. He came over to Wisconsin and supported me for years ... he was always there for me.
"You come to this point and think ’I’m gonna call my dad. Shall I retire Dad" What shall I do?’ ‘‘It’s those moments when you miss him – when you have questions for him you didn’t know you had."