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Antonio Penny is one of a kind. You won’t meet another person like him, not even close. He’s in a category all his own, and his uniqueness has left an undeniable mark on youth basketball across Indiana and the Midwest. But his reach extends far beyond developing athletes. Penny’s deeper mission is about building strong character and shaping lives for the better.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Penny, and our conversation was inspiring from start to finish. When asked about the beginning of his journey, he lit up.

“My history with basketball goes deep,” he said. “It’s like a family heirloom. My pops began a basketball story that’s still being passed down.”

For Penny, the game is more than competition, it’s legacy, learning, and love. He recalled some of his fondest early memories at the Carver Center, playing for Coach Denon Beard on the Orange Team.

“That’s when people first started calling me ‘Penny,’” he said. “I’d walk into the gym and hear, ‘There go Penny!’ That’s when I fell in love with the game.”

That nickname would go on to define not just a player, but a movement. Despite playing the game at a professional level, Penny says the true win is beyond the scoreboard.

“Basketball always finds a way to make me feel like a winner,” he told me. “It pushes me to grow, to work hard, and to get better, not just as a player but as a person.”

That passion shows in his company, The Penny Way. What makes it even more special is that it’s a full-on family affair. Penny works side by side with his closest loved ones.

“It means everything,” he said. “The people I trust most are my family. They challenge me, support me, and help keep the mission going strong. That’s who I do it for, my team.”

The Penny Way has already expanded across Indiana, touching lives in many communities.

“Our work has reached multiple cities because of how we treat people,” Penny explained. “We’ve built relationships that open doors, and people know when they hear ‘The Penny Way,’ it’s something real.”

When I asked him about legacy, his words were powerful: “I want the world to know I surrounded myself with good people and created winning environments. I want kids to know that being a good person and giving back is the real key to success.”

Antonio Penny continues to serve faithfully out of the Carver Community Center, just steps from where it all began. His story is proof that basketball can be the seed, but love, discipline, and purpose are what grow a legacy. The impact he and his family have made will be felt for generations.

Not just because of basketball.

But because it was done The Penny Way.