Tag: Kirk Penney

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.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Wisconsin HC Greg Gard clarifies Kirk Penney’s role, the open position on his coaching staff

Wisconsin HC Greg Gard clarifies Kirk Penney’s role, the open position on his coaching staff

Wisconsin basketball head coach Greg Gard joined 97.3 The Game this week and discussed numerous topics, including the turnover on his coaching staff.

His staff is in a state of flux. Longtime assistant coach Dean Oliver recently left the program, and there are rumors that top assistant Joe Krabbenhoft is in consideration for a head coach position elsewhere.

Related: Everything Wisconsin HC Greg Gard said about NIL, his coaching staff and program changes in a recent radio interview

Gard clarified that the program is searching for Oliver’s replacement, and the position will include recruiting off campus. He added that program legend Kirk Penney will be on staff as a full-time analyst.

Penney joined Gard’s staff as a special assistant in November 2023. It appears his responsibilities will grow with another season and the departure of Oliver.

Wisconsin remains on the hunt for Oliver’s full-time replacement as the program prepares for a critical 2024-25 season.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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A former Wisconsin basketball star joins the Badger coaching staff

A former Badger is back on the Wisconsin sidelines

Today is the day! We have finally made it to college basketball season in 2023-24. Wisconsin basketball opens their year tonight at the Kohl Center as they take on Arkansas State.

The Badgers announced an addition to the coaching staff just before the start of the season, as a former Wisconsin basketball standout returns to the sidelines. Kirk Penney, who led the Badgers to a pair of Big Ten championships and the Final Four, is back on the bench as a special assistant to the head coach. Wisconsin basketball announced the move on Monday.

“I’m excited to welcome Kirk back to our program,” Gard said in the press release from Wisconsin basketball. “His knowledge of not only what it means to be a Badger, but also his world-wide experience in the game of basketball will be a great asset to our players and program overall. Kirk checks all of the boxes in terms of his knowledge of our program, his mind for the game, his wealth of playing and coaching experience, and his love for the Badgers. I’m happy to have Kirk back at Wisconsin.”

Badger moments: Kirk Penney leads Big Dance win over Weber State

Kirk Penney goes off

The 2003 Wisconsin Badgers are remembered for making the Sweet 16, which solidified for many people the sense that the program was here to stay. Making the Sweet 16 represented a strong national statement from Bo Ryan’s bunch. The Badgers were not content to settle for No. 8 or No. 9 seeds and first-weekend NCAA Tournament exits. The program had bigger goals and dreams, even though it was certainly in a much better place compared to the early 1990s a decade earlier.

In order for the 2003 Badgers to reach the Sweet 16, they had to get out of the first round. Sent once again to the West Region — a frequent landing spot for the team in its earlier NCAA Tournaments over the past 30 years — Wisconsin was a No. 5 seed shipped to Spokane to play the Weber State Wildcats.

You might remember that Weber State had developed a reputation as an NCAA giant-killer at the time. Weber State was a 14 seed which knocked off third-seeded Michigan State in the first round of the 1996 NCAA Tournament. Three years later, in 1999, Weber State once again pulled off a 14-over-3 upset by beating North Carolina in the first round. Wisconsin had to avoid the dreaded 12-over-5 upset to make its way to the Sweet 16.

Kirk Penney said, “I got this.” (Not literally, but essentially.)

Penney played all 40 minutes, scoring 21 points with nine rebounds and five assists, as UW beat Weber, 81-74.

The background for this game was established the season before. Weber State upset UW, 73-69. Penney was just 1 of 10 from the field in that game. In this game, he was 9 of 17. He answered the bell and fueled a Wisconsin offense which hit 53.4 percent of its field goal attempts. Weber State finished just 40.8 percent from the field, a lot of that in the final minutes after UW had built a 17-point lead and cruised to the finish line. The final seven-point margin was deceptively close. The game was much more lopsided.

“It’s in the back of your mind that we lost to them last year,” Penney said. “We wanted to play them again. But when push comes to shove on the court you have to play well and not worry about that.”

Penney definitely played well… and the Badgers built part of their NCAA Tournament legacy in Spokane.