One of New Zealand’s most accomplished Tall Blacks, Kirk Penney, was last week announced into the 2024 Class of the FIBA Hall of Fame leads our news this week.

Arguably the greatest player to come out of Westlake Boys High School and Harbour Basketball, then going on to play at the University of Wisconsin, Kirk first suited up for the Tall Blacks in 1999 as an 18-year-old. He went on to make 179 appearances for the Tall Blacks, scoring over 2,000 points for New Zealand at international level and developing a reputation as a dominating scorer and outside shooter.

Kirk appeared in two Olympics - 2000 in Sydney and 2004 in Athens – as well as multiple FIBA competitions around the world. 

But it is at the World Cup level – the pinnacle event for basketball athletes – that Kirk has truly made his mark. As the only player to appear in four World Cups for New Zealand, Kirk played in four consecutive World Championships between 2002 and 2014. 

He was part of the Tall Blacks' memorable 2002 World Championships campaign as they finished fourth; Kirk scored 16.9ppg while hitting 45.5% from beyond the arc.

At the 2010 World Championships in Turkey he opened with 37 against basketball powerhouse Lithuania; going on to be the second highest scorer in the entire tournament with 24.7ppg.

In 27 games played at FIBA World Cups, Kirk currently ranks fifth all-time in three pointers made with 60, six all-time in free throws made (97), seventh all-time in field goals made (145) and the twelfth leading scorer of all-time (447).

In joining teammate Pero Cameron as only the second Kiwi to ever be inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame, Kirk says it is an honour and privilege.

“It’s an incredible honour for me, and probably more than anything it’s a testament to all the hard work by a great group pf people. We took enormous pride in carrying the kiwi flag around the world,” says Penney.

“We shared some amazing experiences over the years and I think I was truly blessed to play with a couple of generations of really good New Zealand basketball players - and to be a part of building a foundation for future New Zealand basketball success. This honour brings back a boat load of incredible memories on the global stage with great people.”

Some of Kirk’s favourite memories have come on basketball’s biggest stage; not just the on-court success but with the comradery and mindset of the teams he was a part of.

“Playing in the Olympics games is so special, we’ve been able to play in a couple of them and it was really neat – something that we’ll never forget.

“We always felt like we could play with the best, compete with them and be in a position to win it at the end of games. That was a mentality that took years to mould; previously the Tall Blacks had played in one World Cup, so we had to stand on the shoulders of those before us and trailblazer a bit with that group – I think we did a great job carving a path for that next generation.”

Now to a current NCAA player and news emanating from the States in the past week is that Tayla Dalton will spend her fifth and final collegiate year at Gonzaga University. Tayla has spent the past four years at St Mary’s College, California where she amassed 965 points in 119 appearances – with 83 starts – for the Gaels.

Sal’s National Basketball League.

Tai Webster scored a career high 40 points put couldn’t prevent the Otago Nuggets going down 96-85 to the Canterbury Rams in Christchurch on Thursday night.

Also with a career high was Liam Judd. He scored 30 points for Manawatu Jets in a 107-82 loss to the Wellington Saints on Sunday. 

Auckland Tuatara welcomed back Charlie Dalton for their encounter with Hawkes Bay Hawks at Eventfinda Stadium last Saturday. Charlie has recently completed his freshman year at Concordia University Irvine and witnessed a points fest as the Tuatara won 120-96.

Leading the way for the Tuatara were Rob Loe with 31 points and 18 rebounds while Corey Webster also had a double-double with 19 points and 11 assists.

The next opportunity to see the Tuatara is this Saturday, May 11, when the Tuatara will play the Manawatu Jets at Eventfinda Stadium.

The Rapid League game begins at 6.30pm with the NBL encounter commencing at 7.30pm.

Dan Fotu scored 22 points for the Nelson Giants in their 107-94 loss to the Otago Nuggets in Dunedin on Sunday evening.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt scored 11 points as Tauranga Whai fell 105-74 at Hawkes Bay Hawks.

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In Australian NBL1 action:

In NBL1 South Round 5 action Penina Davidson put together one of the individual performances of the round. The Tall Ferns centre scored almost 50% of her teams points in amassing 35 points. However it couldn’t prevent Keilor Thunder going down 90-72 against Ballarat Miners.

In NBL1 West Ella Fotu scored 17 points and Olivia Berry 6 as Kalamunda Eastern Suns lost 121-77 to Lakeside Lightning. 

Further afield Isaac Fotu scored 13 points as Tochigi Brex thumped Ibaraki Robots 100-59 in the Japanese League Eastern Conference.

James Moors tallied 14 points – his 13^th consecutive double figure outing - in Leeuwarden’s 92-79 defeat at the hands of Mechelen in Dutch League play. 

Also in Europe Yanni Wetzell scored 10 points as ALBA Berlin beat Heidelburg 96-89 in German League action.