Timberwolves Sign Free Agent Guard Kirk Penney

Penney played for the Wolves in the 2003 Pepsi Pro Summer League in July. Fernando Medina, NBAE/Getty Images

Aug. 22, 2003 — Timberwolves Vice President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Kevin McHale today announced the team has signed free agent guard Kirk Penney. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Penney, who went undrafted during the 2003 NBA Draft, averaged 11.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 18.6 minutes in five games for the Wolves at the Orlando Pepsi Pro Summer League in July. He ranked first on the squad in three-pointers made (seven) and second in field goals made (20) and steals (five). Penney scored 16 points (6-10 FG, 1-2 3FG, 3-4 FT) on July 10 vs. Miami and tallied 14 points and five rebounds on July 11 vs. Cleveland.

The native of Auckland, New Zealand averaged 11.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game over his four-year collegiate career at Wisconsin (1999-2000 through 2002-03). He finished sixth on Wisconsin's career scoring list with 1,454 points, in addition to ranking second on the school's all-time list in three-pointers (217) and three-point attempts (561), third in games played (127) and sixth in minutes played (3,416). Penney was named AP Honorable Mention All-America as a senior as well as First-Team All-Big Ten Conference as a junior and senior.

Penney helped lead Wisconsin to a school-record 24 wins in 2002-03, including its first outright Big Ten title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen. He ranked first for the Badgers in scoring (16.2 ppg), assists (3.1 apg) and minutes (35.0 mpg) last season. Penney scored a season-high 28 points on Feb. 1, 2003 vs. Penn State and tallied 25 points on Nov. 15, 2002 vs. Eastern Washington. As a junior in 2001-02, he helped lead the Badgers to a share of the Big Ten regular-season title, while leading the team in scoring (15.1 ppg) and ranking third in rebounds (4.9 rpg). He posted a career-high 33 points on Dec. 22, 2001 vs. Marquette.

Additionally, Penney has represented his native New Zealand in the 2000 Olympic Games, 2001 Goodwill Games and 2002 World Championship. He led the Kiwis to a fourth-place finish in the 2002 World Championship in Indianapolis, averaging 16.9 points and 31.1 minutes. He scored in double figures in eight of nine games, including a high of 24 points against eventual World Champion Yugoslavia in the semifinals.