July 20 July 20, 2005 Summer League has ended, mates. It’s hard to believe it’s over. Sorry that it took me a day to post the final entry. You know how it gets with travel and all. I think our group made some good progress as the week went on. We had a good win over Indiana – a quality moment there when Boggie got ejected – and played fairly well against the Knicks in the finale. We weren’t able to finish that one off at the end, but it was by far our best offensive game of the five. I think Larry Harris, Terry Stotts and coaches Ociepka and Sanders got a good feel for what we could do, and especially when it came to Andrew. I’d say most teams here could say the same. As for me personally, I just play the game. I take what’s presented to me and try to make the right decisions when I play. When it comes right down to it, I love playing basketball. I’m headed back to New Zealand on Sunday (July 24) and will film a television commercial to promote our National Team qualifier games in August. After a short break, our National Team camp starts. We have two games in Perth and two games in Syndey with Lithuania, China and Australia. Then we head to Auckland where we’ll face the Aussies for two, and then a third game with them in Dunedin. Those games basically are for the #1 and #2 seeds for the World Games next year. Once that schedule is complete, then it’ll be time for me to decide where I’ll play next year. It’s been a pleasure to share some of my adventures with you from Milwaukee and Minneapolis. Thanks for taking the time to check in now and again. Cheers! Golden mate! July 18, 2005 Ahh, yes. Another day and the sun is shining brightly. Not nearly as warm as it has been here, but it is summer after all, right? And I’m playing basketball against some very good competition. Although we haven’t clicked yet as a group, our collective feeling is positive. I think we’d all like to play better and if we continue to improve, we’ll hopefully get a tally in the “W” column. I’d say our biggest task is to get off to better starts in the games. We’ve dug ourselves some significant holes at the beginning of games and it’s been difficult to get back over the hump. Yesterday’s game against the Raptors was a prime example. We got down early and by double-digits midway through the period. We did a nice job of fighting back to close the gap after one, trailing by just six, I think. Let’s just say we’re not making it easy on ourselves. Andrew, myself and Ersan (Ilyasova) got in a lift after the game. I’ve played around the world and understand the challenge of a language barrier that Ersan’s going through. I think that’ll all come with time for him. He’s just 18 years old and he tries so hard and plays hard, too. Szymon (Szewczyk), A.B. and I caught the movie Wedding Crashers yesterday. It’s your typical Vince Vaughn movie. There were some pretty funny moments where all of us we’re laughing aloud. I don’t want to give anything major away, but I'll tell you that Will Ferrell makes a cameo. The audience let out a rather big “Wooooo” when he appeared. All-in-all, I’d give Wedding Crashers 3.5 stars on a scale of 1-to-5. How about Tiger Woods? Another major championship for him, 10 in all now, I believe. I tried to stay on top of the Open Championship. Did you see how U.S. Open Champion Michael Campbell – a fellow Kiwi – fared? I’m pretty sure he finished inside the top 10. Nice showing, mate! Today is another significant challenge as we face Indiana at 3:00 p.m. Their team includes Ron Artest and center David Harrison from their regular roster, among others, so it’ll be another good test for us. I was asked if this was a difficult process to go through playing five games in five days. My answer would be no. This is good for a player to go through. Guys that are playing more minutes are being looked at to see if they can push through being tired. Other guys who aren’t playing as much have to show when they are given a chance that they can produce and stay in good form. Catch you the next time… Golden mate! July 17, 2005 We played much better on Saturday against Houston but came up short, losing by 12, 81-69. A lot better effort overall and I was particularly happy for “A.B.” Boggie had a really good game with 21 points and 13 rebounds. He was on the attack and had some great looks on dunks and finishes around the basket. After the game, I ran into Timberwolves guard Fred Hoiberg outside our locker room. He had a fantastic shooting year last season, hitting something like 48 percent from the three-point line. Anyway, when I was in camp with the Timberwolves a couple years back, Freddie and I played the same position, so we had some great shooting contests in and after practice. He was good to me then and I appreciated getting a chance to play with and learn from him. I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with Fred of late, but he had heart surgery recently to correct a problem in the root where his artery meets the aortic valve. The day he was released from the hospital he collapsed at home and lost consciousness for a short time. His wife called 911 and they were able to find the problem and hopefully have it corrected. He apparently has been fitted with a pacemaker and has to stay relatively calm/inactive for a few months, which is tough for a guy Freddie. He’s hopeful to continue his playing career, but I’ll guarantee you he’s more happy to continue living. There’s not a nicer guy out there and I wish Fred all the best along his road to recovery. I'll leave it at that for today... Golden mate. July 16, 2005 So…about last night’s game… Well… I guess that about covers it. Not much to say about the drubbing we got from Minnesota. It was close for the first quarter and then things got away from us. But the great thing about a tournament-like setting here is that we get to come back today (5pm) and have another go at it. We’ll take on the Houston Rockets this afternoon. They beat Indiana yesterday, 72-64, closing out the game with a 14-1 run to end it. Ron Artest is playing for the Pacers. We’ll see Indiana on Monday. Despite the game, I had a great night of sleep last night. Very restful. That was after we went to an Italian restaurant connected to our hotel. A former NBA player, Dean Garrett, is part owner of the establishment. An international flavor at our table as Boggie, Szymon Szewczyk and myself dined out. A welcome voice has greeted me in my hotel room every time I’ve turned on the television. When you power up the television, Rachel Hunter, a fellow New Zealander is there to guide you through the options (tv shows, internet, movies, etc). Another bit of home while we’re on the road. Ran out to Natural Foods to pick-up some fruit and other healthy items this morning. Got back in time to meet Boggie and Tim Wilson, our strength coach, for a lift. ‘Giving some love to our muscles’ is how Tim phrases it, I believe. After that it’s prepping for this afternoon’s game. We’ll head over around 3:30pm and have a walk-through. Coach (Bob) Ociepka led us yesterday and Coach (Mike) Sanders will lead us today. Stay cool and stay true. Golden mate! July 15, 2005 Well here we go, mates! Today starts the actual Summer League games in Minneapolis. I’m excited for us to get out there and show what we can do. It’ll be good to see how we put what we’ve practiced into game situations. I really look forward to playing with the big Aussie, “A.B.”, who reminded me that he’s 255 pounds and not 245 pounds, which I mistakenly mentioned with him in earshot. I’ve thought about asking Andrew if he’d like to be a guest columnist, if you will, on this daily diary of sorts. Since we’ve been hanging out during the camp he’s been mentioned in probably each one of the entries, so even if he said ‘no’, he’s being included I guess. We went to a Serbian restaurant in Milwaukee last night, Three Brothers, and had a good sampling of food. I recommend the chicken and dumplings, along with the pork loin. Boggie had some kind of pie or Serbian lasagna that I can’t pronounce very well, let alone spell. Even though Andrew has a Croatian background, I think he enjoyed the tastes of back home, if you will. As I’ve said before, we haven’t gone away from any of our meals hungry and last night was no different. This morning we caught a flight around 11am from Milwaukee to Minneapolis. Prior to our flight we were treated to a tasty breakfast by the good folks at Midwest Airlines. I stayed true to form with a generous serving of fresh fruit, along with some yogurt and an omelet. Always stay true! I guess there’s a reason Midwest is called the ‘best care in the air’. The flight was a mere 48 minutes and was all good. A minor delay when we landed but all-in-all uneventful. We arrived at our hotel around 1pm and we’ll walk over as a team to the Target Center around 5:30 pm. For me, I’ll have a little treatment on the ankles prior to heading over and then be ready to go. We’ll have a short walk-thru and then it’s game time. I’m hoping for a positive report tomorrow on tonight’s game against the host Timberwolves. Stay tuned… Golden mate! July 14, 2005 Last night Boggie and I went and saw the movie Batman Begins. I quite liked it. Lots of good action and not too cheesy or corny. Michael Caine was excellent playing Alfred the butler. A good ‘pommy’ actor in Michael Caine we’d say back home. Morgan Freeman plays Lucius Fox, Batman’s tech guy, helping him out with all his gadgets and the like. I really like Morgan Freeman as an actor. Liam Neeson plays Ducard the villain and did a nice job. Katie Holmes was alright, and I won’t say anything more about her…On a five-star scale, I’d give Batman Begins four stars, although I’m not too harsh of a critic. I’ve never gotten into the whole snacks thing at the movies. Not even a bottled water or a soda for fear that I’d have to get up during the film and miss something. Plus last night we had plans to go to the Cheesecake Factory after the show so I wouldn’t have wanted to spoil my appetite. Is it okay to go to the Cheesecake Factory and not have cheesecake? Camp finished up today. The play was certainly physical and a good test for what we’ll face up in Minnesota. I’m looking forward to seeing how we compete, not to mention competing against someone different than the guys we’ve faced the last four days. We’ve got a good crew representing the Bucks and I’m hopeful that we’ll win some games. Tomorrow we fly out in the morning and play Minnesota at 7pm at the Target Center. Stop by and catch a game if you’re in the area. Golden mate! July 13, 2005 We had another good practice today (Wednesday). We’re running a standard, simple offense that everyone seems to have picked up well. One more practice this week and then it’s off to Minneapolis where we get to have a go against someone other than the guys we’ve seen for the last few days. It’s been very competitive on the floor and guys are playing physical. I just think everyone is trying to play their best to make a good impression. At the end of practice we ran some line drills and then Coach Stotts asked someone to take a free throw. If it goes in, we don’t run. If it doesn’t fall it’s back on the line for some more running and then another free throw until someone makes it. To be honest, I’d had enough of running so I walked to the line, as did Scoonie (Penn) and Donnell (Harvey). Coach threw me the ball and I went through my routine and knocked it down. No more running! One of the reporters asked me if I felt pressure stepping up to the line. I told him it was just a free throw and I’d shot enough of them in my lifetime that I knew I could make it. I suppose if I’d blown it, I’d have felt some pressure from the fellas. Glad I made it. T.J. Ford has looked good, no let me say really, really good. At one point in the drills, he stepped into a passing lane and took it the length of the court and finished with a two-handed dunk. I’d say that’s pretty good in my eyes. I think it’s a good thing (for us and him) that he’s working with us, and it’s also good that he’ll take the Summer League off to instead work on his own back home. The way I see it, he’ll be good to go later on for training camp. The Nike Huaraches worked out well for me today. They’re white with some black accents and I know I said I preferred the old school all-white sneakers, but beggars can’t be choosers - isn’t that the case mate?! I’m happy to have them. Boggie and I ended up at the Japanese steakhouse for dinner last night and the chef put on a good show for us. Something that struck me is that back home when a waiter delivers food or a drink we say ‘ta’. I think Boggie and me were probably the only one in the restaurant that kept saying ‘ta’ whenever we we’re brought something. I’m not sure where it comes from but it must be something from our culture. Who knows maybe we’ll start something – kinda like on Seinfeld where people started eating candy bars with a knife and fork. We’re thinking about catching a movie tonight and if that’s the case maybe I’ll do a little bit of a movie review tomorrow. One thing I know for sure is that there are plenty of good restaurants in downtown Milwaukee. We’ve had our fair share of great meals in the time we’ve been here. Golden mate! July 12, 2005 If things work out after practice today, Andrew (Bogut), Jiri (Welsch) and I are heading to a Japanese steakhouse for some lunch. Please don’t get me wrong. The Bucks give us a nice spread after practice (fried chicken yesterday, deli sandwiches today), but I guess you could say I’m an “overly healthy eating” kind-of-a-guy. I did snack on a plate of the fresh fruit served with the lunch. I have a craving for either fish or grilled chicken with some veggies that I can’t seem to shake, so hopefully we’ll be able to get there. I did a phone interview with a college student today who is writing for the newspaper at Northwestern University. I did the interview despite the fact he went to a rival Big Ten school. All in good fun, mate. I'm happy to accomodate the interview. He was asking about the college three-point line and how it changes the game and if it should continue. Boggie and I were chatting in the training room today about our experiences at the Athens Olympics. More on what went on after we were through competing. Lots of laughs. I almost wish I hadn’t broached the subject on this writing because if I continue, there’s a good chance I’ll be putting some people in a bad light so I’ll leave it at that. Anyway, I love shoes. That being said, Jiri was kind enough to hook me up with a pair of his size 13 Nike Huaraches that I’m going to try out tomorrow at practice. I like a light-weight shoe, preferably in white. Old school all-white shoes, in the mold of John Stockton. If Jiri and I would get the opportunity, we’d love to bring back the John Stockton shorts - six inches above the knee, mate! As I say this aloud, Jiri is hiking up his shorts to give us the Stockton shorts look. Probably better that there’s no pictures of it. Old school. Nothing like old school. Golden mate! July 11, 2005 I’ll tell you what, mate, it’s good to have someone else from back home on the team. Andrew (Bogut) and I had a riot last night (at dinner). We went to Rock Bottom and had dinner. It was great to see how many people came over and recognized Andrew and were wishing him well on the season and wanting to talk to him. Believe it or not a few people even recognized me from my days as a Badger, which was a nice feeling. Just sitting outside and enjoying the beautiful weather and getting a good look at the (Milwaukee) river was a treat for both of us. I told Boggie after dinner that I’m going to enjoy playing with him. This is cool, you know? He’s a guy who was the number one pick so we’d better get him the ball. He’s good and it’s good to just be out there playing with him on my side. This morning I grabbed a shower and some breakkie. I ordered oatmeal from room service and then we boarded the bus over here to the Training Center. Once we got here it was down to business. The opportunity for me is great. It’s great. The opportunity to go out and play and compete. Just today in practice - the first day for us - it was nice to really get after it. A lot of us have been working out - Boggie with the draft coming up and even me just coming in here for the last five or six weeks - it’s nice to go at people. If you love to play you love to be out here. Today at practice Andrew and I were going back and forth a bit with our own cultural slang. Little things that you just laugh at that others may not pick up on. I like going home and playing with my national team because you get there and you get the boys that you’ve always been playing with. So playing with Andrew, I get a little taste of playing at home and it’s outstanding. After practice I was asked if 2005 could possibly be the ‘year of the kiwi’, with Michael Campbell winning the United States Open and me having the chance to make it in the NBA. Ay, the year of the Kiwi. It’s always the year of the kiwi, mate. Obviously (Michael) Campbell did a great job. For me, I’m grateful to be here with the Bucks, trying to contribute whatever way I can. One thing I’ve learned is that you can’t plan too far ahead. You have to be ready and really prioritize your life in pursuing your goals. As you get older you really understand that. This is another opportunity for me and I just want to embrace it and give it everything I have to show the strengths I have. I’m gonna be a hard worker and show I’m good to have around and good for the team and show that I can contribute. I’m skipping the fried chicken and potatoes served after practice and going to grab some lunch with Andrew. He said he can always eat again. I’m more of a grilled chicken guy. A native of New Zealand, Kirk Penney has represented his country in the 2000 Olympic Games, 2001 Goodwill Games and 2002 World Championship. He led the Kiwis to a surprising fourth-place finish in the 2002 World Championship and averaged 16.9 points and 31.1 minutes, both second on the team. He scored in double figures in eight of nine games, including a high of 24 points against eventual World Champion Yugoslavia in the semifinals. Penney was named Honorable Mention All-America by the Associated Press as a senior and joined Illinois’ Brian Cook as the only unanimous selections to the 2003 Big Ten First Team. He finished sixth on Wisconsin’s career scoring list with 1,454 points, and concluded his collegiate career ranked second in three-pointers (217) and three-point attempts (561), third in games played (127) and sixth in minutes (3,416). Penney contributed to 83 victories at Wisconsin, most in school history. |
