Australia - Penney jets to USA

From sportal.com.au
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New Zealand superstar Kirk Penney is heading to the USA on Tuesday for a stint in the NBA Development League.

Penney will be placed in a draft for new players that will take place this week in Los Angeles.

Only teams that are still in the running for the D-League play-offs, which start in April, will have access to the draft.

This will be Penney's second foray in the D-League after he played for the Asheville Attitude five seasons ago.

After Penney missed a huge chunk of the recently-completed NBL season due to a back injury, the veteran Breaker still managed to make the All-NBL first team for the third time after averaging 23.2 points and 5.2 rebounds in 19 matches.

"I need to keep playing, especially after missing so much of the previous season with the back injury," Penney said.

"This is an opportunity to play at a high level, test myself against NBA quality players, some veterans and some at the start of their careers but all looking to impress scouts and coaches."

"You should never stop wanting to learn and improve and this is a chance for me to do that, to see which parts of my game I need to work on in a competitive environment."

Penney believes his time in the States will give him ideal preparation for the Tall Blacks' tilt at the FIBA World Championships in Turkey in August.

"This will put me in good stead for the World Championships but also to return to the Breakers a better player next season," he said.

Since turning pro in 1998, Penney has been a basketball journeyman.

He has had stints at NBA teams Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers as well as European clubs CB Gran Canaria (Spain), Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel), BC Zalgiris (Lithuania) and ALBA Berlin (Germany).