Wisconsin basketball officially announces Kirk Penney’s new coaching role

Wisconsin basketball officially announces Kirk Penney’s new coaching role:

Wisconsin basketball officially announced former Badger sharpshooter Kirk Penney’s new role on Greg Gard’s staff as ‘special assistant to the head coach’ on Friday.

We knew this news was coming, as head coach Greg Gard recently explained Penney’s contributions throughout the 2023-24 season and his desire to expand his role on the staff.

Related: An updated list of Wisconsin basketball’s transfer portal targets

Penney returned to the Badgers program as a special assistant in November of 2023. He was previously an all-Big Ten guard for the Badgers from 1999-2003 and one of the more lethal three-point shooters in program history.

The release cites Penney’s return as one of the driving forces behind the 2023-24 team averaging 74.7 points per game, the program’s highest scoring average in 30 years.

“I’m happy to have Kirk on our staff, and the work that he has done to help evolve and improve our offense has been evident,” Gard said in Friday’s release. “Not only has our offensive efficiency improved drastically, but individually our players saw results and improved productivity. I’m confident that we are just scratching the surface of how we can continue to grow.”

Wisconsin is currently dealing with the roster turnover that saw star point guard Chucky Hepburn and star shooting guard A.J. Storr both enter the transfer portal. The staff is working hard to replace their production and re-shape expectations entering 2024-25.

Penney’s presence this past season was a clear positive as the team’s offensive attack was revolutionized. The hope is that presence helps moving forward as the program grapples with the current age of college basketball.

For more on Wisconsin basketball’s ongoing transfer portal activity, check out our ongoing tracker of the Badgers transfer portal visits and targets.

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