New Zealand hopes rest heavily on star guard Kirk Penney at the world championships and yes, he is feeling the pressure.

Kirk Penney normally handles questions with the same effortless efficiency he does when a defender leaves him too much room to rise up for his sweet jump shot.

He knocks it down, and then asks "what's next?"

But ask New Zealand's best basketballer if he's feeling any pressure ahead of the world championships which tipoff in Turkey on Sunday and the smooth-talking shooting guard is knocked a little off balance.

"I don't think there's pressure," he says, before pausing and gathering himself a little. "Actually, that's not true. There is pressure to perform well and make sure you're on your game and I'm certainly trying to do that as a professional.

"This week it's about getting my body right knowing I have five games in six days, understanding it [the pressure] just builds and how much more serious and focused you have to be.

"From a personal level, I believe in my game and believe in my team. I always believe we have a chance – that's just the way I am. That's my mindset. I think it helps that this is my third world champs and I have a good feel for what's going to happen."

Penney, of course, is right to acknowledge the pressure. He is, after all, more or less carrying this team offensively. He's their lone world-class player now that Pero Cameron and Phill Jones have been slowed by injury and age and Sean Marks never made the starting line.

He will need to come up big in Turkey if the Tall Blacks are to have any chance of making it out of their group into the knockout round.

But he's going to need help, because as coach Nenad Vucinic acknowledges, there are "no secrets" in world basketball now. Everyone has the videos and everyone will have noted how big a cog Penney is in the Tall Blacks' offensive machinery.

So that's going to mean the likes of Jones and Cameron have to reproduce, at least in cameo, some blasts from their past. Jones certainly still looks capable. And Craig Bradshaw, Mika Vukona, Tom Abercrombie, Lindsay Tait and even Alex Pledger all take whatever opportunities they get.

PENNEY will draw all sorts of attention from opponents who will key on him big time. He's good enough to still find his looks, but must also trust his open team-mates to deliver when two or even three defenders run at him.

As good as Penney is, as capable as he is of lighting up anyone who shows him less than full respect, it's going to be his supporting cast who have to deliver for the Kiwis to have any chance of making a name for themselves in Turkey.

The assignment couldn't start any tougher either with the world's sixth-ranked Lithuanians up first early on Sunday, followed by highly fancied Spain, before the Kiwis have a rest day to gather themselves ahead of their run home against Lebanon, Canada and France – their three winnable fixtures.

But Penney isn't looking beyond the opening one-two. "I just want us to be in games and compete, especially these first two, and have a chance at the end.

"I know how good these teams can play but also understand that everyone has weaknesses. A lot of guys are going to have to step up and that's the challenge of team sport." Penney said the Tall Blacks' buildup – they went 3-6 with two major scalps – was all about preparing themselves for what's ahead, and to that end he judged it a success.

"We've made some great progress, especially at the defensive end figuring out how to stop teams and how to use changing defences to our advantage. We're going to be smaller so we've got to find ways to make that work."

Penney, who targets defence and limiting turnovers as his own focus, says it will be important to keep the Lithuanians guessing first-up.

"Once they get comfortable with what we're running they'll start exploiting because they're smart players.

"But there are going to be teams that will take us lightly, `they'll be like these guys don't play in Europe or the NBA, who are these guys'?

"So any chance you get you've got to jump on them because they're not giving you the respect. That's how it is for us, and how it's always been."

The only question remaining is does Penney have the help to make teams pay for not taking these Kiwis seriously enough?

We are about to find out.

AT A GLANCE

The assignment, group D, Izmir (NZ times)Sunday, Aug 29: NZ v Lithuania 1am (live SkySport2) Monday, Aug 30: NZ v Spain 6am (live SkySport 2) Wednesday, Sept 1: NZ v Lebanon 1am (live SS1) Thursday, Sept 2: NZ v Canada 1am (live SS1) Friday, Sept 3: NZ v France 6am (live SS1)The Tall Blacks: Pero Cameron (capt), Lindsay Tait, Mike Fitchett, Jeremy Kench, Kirk Penney, Phill Jones, Tom Abercrombie, Mika Vukona, Benny Anthony, Craig Bradshaw, Casey Frank, Alex Pledger

The lowdown: As always, under-sized, under-resourced and largely unknown. Don't have the firepower of the 2002 upstarts, but still capable of upsetting.

Will need Kirk Penney to fire, and the supporting cast to step up, but two wins to advance to knockout round is not beyond this team of scrappers.

The opponents:

Spain: Defending champions, considered best prospect to roll young USA side. Missing Lakers star Pau Gasol but younger brother Marc deputises and still with a ton of firepower, including young sensation Ricky Rubio. Should top the group.

Lithuania: Big, deep team, shoot the ball well and hit the boards. Good form in leadup suggests Linas Kleiza and his team-mates will be Spain's toughest challenge.

France: The good news for the Tall Blacks is that Tony Parker, Joakim Noah, Mickael Pietrus and Roddy Beaubois are not there. Still plenty of talent and athletic ability, led by Boris Diaw and Nic Batum. Beatable on a bad day.

Canada: Solid team with plenty of NBA and top-level European experience and beat France twice in buildup. Another side in NZ's sights.

Lebanon: Should be the group easybeats, but as the Tall Blacks well know, any team coached by Tab Baldwin has to be respected.

TAB, overall winner $1.65 USA $3.50 Spain $15 Greece, Serbia $18 Argentina $25 Turkey $28 Brazil $50 Lithuania, Slovenia, Croatia $60 France, Russia $100 Puerto Rico, Australia $200 Germany $250 Canada, China $1000 Angola, Iran, New Zealand $2000 Lebanon, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Tunisia