MIES (Switzerland) - Kirk Penney was such a valuable player for New Zealand's national team that his career with the Tall Blacks lasted 15 years.
He could score, especially from behind the arc with his pin-point accurate shooting. Penney's positivity, strong presence in the locker room and leadership qualities were just as important.
His experience is invaluable and makes him a good fit for the FIBA Players' Commission.
"It's a fantastic commission put together for a really good reason and to really take care of the current players around the world and obviously we're connected with our federations and hearing how they think things can improve and that's very important as well," Penney said after recently attending the Players' Commission meeting at the House of Basketball (FIBA Headquarters) in Mies, Switzerland.
"This is my second term. Initially, it was just to learn and understand and to hear what's going on internationally, be a part of it and to be able to talk to my federation and see what value adds there are.
"But I think as it's unfolded, it's a really neat group of people who have achieved great things in the game and are coming together with different perspectives in the same room. And I think the value in that as we all study the same thing that from different eyes is huge for FIBA. And then I'll feedback on that and our advisory part for the Central Board. I think it has great value."
"WHERE WE FOUND SUCCESS WAS THE CHEMISTRY AND HOW WE CAME TOGETHER AS A TEAM"
Penney had quite an adventure in the sport.
He won a scholarship and played college basketball in the USA for the University of Wisconsin from 1999 to 2003. While a Badger, Penney played for New Zealand at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2002 in Indianapolis. Penney also met there his future wife, Audra, who was a volleyball player for the Badgers.
The Tall Blacks, who won just one of six games at the 2000 Olympics, arrived in Indiana as outsiders yet made it to the Semi-Finals.
"We were able to put New Zealand on the map, getting to the Semi-Finals of a World Cup was big," he said. "In four straight World Cups, we got through pool stages and were able to compete against European teams, which was big for us, too."
Eight of the Olympians were in the World Cup squad. The Tall Blacks beat Russia, who had reached the Final in 1998, in their first game and followed that with a victory over Venezuela.
Next came a game against eventual finalists Argentina that proved to be brutal. Not only did the Tall Blacks fall, 112-85. They lost center Sean Marks to an eye injury. He didn't play for the remainder of the tournament.
In the Second Round, New Zealand appeared to be in real trouble. They fell first to Germany and then to a USA team full of NBA stars, leaving them with a must-win game against Yao Ming and China to advance.
The pressure seemed to be too much. The Tall Blacks trailed by 22 points at the end of the first quarter and eight heading to the fourth, yet battled back to win 94-88 to reach the last eight.
Penney drilled four of seven three-balls en route to 19 points in that game, and left-handed marksman Phill Jones buried six of eight from deep on his way to 33 points. Pero Cameron, the current New Zealand coach, hit two late three-pointers that were vital and the Kiwis progressed. Yao poured in 27 points that day for the Chinese.
Next in the Quarter-Finals was a tough game against Puerto Rico. New Zealand got under the skin of the Boricuas before the game had even begun when they did the haka and the contest was then tight from start to finish but the Tall Blacks survived, 65-63.
In the Semi-Finals against Yugoslavia, who had eliminated the USA in the Quarter-Finals, New Zealand jumped out to a big first-quarter lead against Yugoslavia. They looked like a team of destiny.
New Zealand held a 48-39 advantage at half-time but a legendary Yugoslav team that had Dejan Bodiroga, Peja Stojakovic, Vlade Divac and Marko Jaric, got an unexpected 18 points from unheralded center Dejan Koturovic and prevailed, 89-78.
That result still hurts Penney.
"We had beaten them in Braunschweig (Germany) two weeks earlier (in a preparation game)," Penney said.
"Sean Marks had had a great game. And we go into the Semi-Final, we had a lot of belief because we felt like we could play with them. But we didn't have Sean, which really hurt us. But even in the second half, we were winning. And I'd love to relive the last two minutes."
Penney says New Zealand's team play and chemistry made them very difficult to beat.
"Does Serbia (Yugoslavia at the time) have more power?" he said, "Sure. Do they have more players that are way more accomplished? Of course. They have good NBA players and we have players that make coffee for a living.
"But we really, really felt like it was a team that came together like a team. A really good team, magical chemistry and could accomplish great things. And surprise everyone."
Then in the Third-Place Game, Jones scored 26 points and Penney 19 but tournament MVP Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points and Germany won, 117-94. Nowitzki is now Chair of the Players' Commission.
"Even in the next game, we played Dirk and Germany for the bronze," Penney said. "Even that game, for us to win bronze, it would have been so significant for the nation of New Zealand and basketball in the country. But what happened there, in that Semi-Final against Serbia, the whole country stood still.
"Everyone in New Zealand watched the game and wasn't working. And that's never happened before. It was a special moment. Even though we were defeated, it was a really special moment for the country.
"And now, basketball is the fastest growing sport in New Zealand and 20-25 years later, it has huge popularity among the youth.
"And there are a lot of factors that go into that, the national team, the New Zealand Breakers, different people, Steven Adams in the NBA, Sean Marks is the GM of the Brooklyn Nets. There are different factors but it's pretty neat for New Zealand from where the game has come from."
Another missed opportunity for New Zealand came at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
"We kept losing by two points," Penney said. "We played the silver medalists Italy in the first game, lose by two (71-69). We played Serbia (Serbia and Montenegro), beat Serbia (90-87). We played another game, just kept losing close games and it was the same (New Zealand) team, and we felt like we were better than before.
Also in the Athens Preliminary Round, New Zealand lost 69-62 to China, 98-94 to eventual gold medal winners Argentina and 88-84 to Spain.
"In a tournament, anything can happen," Penney said. "I think the ’04 Olympics, all of us would like to have another crack at that with the team that we had. That's sports."
They are good memories, and a little painful.
New Zealand, Penney says, had a close-knit group and everyone was important.
"I think everyone was so different but had such great value to the team, whether it was the comic relief or the guy that just drove us or just had your back in any situation, you can't separate them," he said. "There was a group of us, a nucleus, so long that we all shared such special memories and we were all very competitive, and such winners and all felt like we wanted more. But that's how it should be."
New Zealand will try to make it to the Olympics in France. They will play in arguably the toughest of the four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQT) in Athens, with Group A games against Slovenia and Croatia. In Group B are Greece, Egypt and the Dominican Republic.
"Olympic Qualifying Tournaments are very hard," said Penney, who played at the 2008 OQT in Athens.
"We've got Slovenia in our pool. Could they win a medal? Yeah, probably. There are other great teams in our pool, too.
"It's a huge challenge, but making the Olympics is an amazing accomplishment and something you'll remember for the rest of your life, so it should be a huge challenge. I'm hopeful that the guys can come together.
"I think for New Zealand, there's a talent level that we need but where we found success in the past was the chemistry and how we came together as a team. And on top of that, which is incredibly important, is belief.
"And sometimes, for some countries, that’s not always there. 'He’s a better player, he's made this much, he plays in the NBA. How can we compete?'
"You have to overcome that and say, 'We can still win. We can still win.' Some of that is systematic, some of that is talent, but I think a lot of it is the top few inches as well."
New Zealand will play their first OQT game on Day 2 against Croatia, and then take on Slovenia on Day 3.
The Tall Blacks will have to hit the ground running, just as they tried to last summer at the World Cup in Manila when they faced the USA on opening night.
"I was really encouraged," Penney said. "There are a lot of good things happening within the national team.
"They put out a great effort, put themselves in position to win (against US) but just weren’t able to sustain it for 40 minutes. Depth is important."
The Tall Blacks led the USA by 10 in the first quarter.
Penney says New Zealand have to play well in all aspects of the game to have a chance.
"I think defensively, or the little things like rebounding on free-throws, defensive rebounding, transition rebounding, those little things, they can't be wrong," he said.
"I think they may just need to fine-tune those a little bit more. Making shots is one thing, but eliminating losing is a whole other thing. But I’m excited for them. I think the 3x3 team has some talent, too. So as the game grows, hopefully we can grow with it, too."
FIBA