Lucas: Finley deserving to have jersey hang 24ever
February 18, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Mike Lucas
There was never a ceiling on what Finley could accomplish
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — It was an exceptionally rare moment in Michael Finley's college basketball career. He missed a practice. It was on the Monday leading up to his final home appearance at the UW Field House. In the previous game, Finley had been poked in the eye and the residual effects from that injury kept him on the sidelines for one day at least. He was back practicing that Tuesday.
Two years earlier, he had missed his only other practice in four seasons at Wisconsin. He had a fever and 104-degree temperature, and it also forced him to miss the game the next day. It was the only time that he wasn't able to answer the bell for a tipoff. And it later prompted interim coach Stan Van Gundy to use the word "remarkable'' to describe Finley's durability, reliability and warrior mentality.
Rarely did he come off the floor. As a senior, Finley averaged 37 minutes per game. As a junior, it was 36.1. As a sophomore, it was 35. During his 115-game UW career, he logged 3,945 minutes, a 34.3 average. "The thing is,'' Van Gundy said, "is that he has always been there even with the sore ankles and sore knees and everything that someone gets when they play this game. He has always showed up.''
On March 8, 1995, Finley put on a show in his final home game, a 72-70 loss to Indiana. Playing 39 minutes, he had 21 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Finley was one of five seniors recognized joining Andy Kilbride, Brian Kelley, Chris Conger and Howard Moore. Van Gundy opined of this class that "their number one legacy is that they got into the (1994) NCAA tournament'' for the first time in 47 years.
During a TV timeout late in the second half, Indiana coach Bob Knight whispered something into the ear of Finley's mother, Bertha, who was on the court helping wave the "W'' banner for the Badgers. Bertha Finley routinely made the two-hour drive from her home in Maywood, Illinois to Madison for every game at the Field House. Unquestionably, she was the team's and her son's No. 1 cheerleader.
After the Hoosiers had escaped with the narrow win, prolonging their series dominance, Knight revealed what he had said to Bertha, "I told Finley's mom that he was a helluva kid and had been a great player here. He got a lot bigger, a lot stronger and just got better and better and better. I think Finley is the best basketball player in the in the Big Ten in all the things he can do. He's got a helluva future …''
Little did anyone know at the time that it would go beyond basketball and his 15 seasons in the NBA with Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio and Boston. Little did anyone know that the warrior in Finley would drive him back to school to get his degree in 2014. Little did anyone know that real estate, venture capitalism and film-making as a financier and executive producer would be part of that future.
Then again, for those who knew him, there was never a ceiling on what he could get done.
On Sunday, Finley's past accomplishments as a Badger will be celebrated with the retirement of his No. 24 jersey during a halftime ceremony of the Michigan game. As the banner is raised to the Kohl Center rafters, taking its place alongside of those honoring the achievements of Ab Nicholas (8) and Frank Kaminsky (44), Finley will be supported by family, friends and former college and prep teammates.
Although 80-year-old Bertha Finley was recovering from hip surgery in late September and unable to attend a Chicago event announcing the plans to retire No. 24, she will be present Sunday. It was ordained by Michael who said, "I was joking with her that you have to attack your rehab and get your hip right because we're going to need you to hold that banner like you did when I was here.''
Wisconsin Basketball greatness 🐐
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) September 25, 2021
What a moment tonight, as @MichaelFinley celebrates the retirement of his No. 24 jersey with family and friends
Can't wait to make it official later this season with our Badger Family pic.twitter.com/1L2QPxOLqD
Accompanying Bertha on some of those road trips to the Field House was Finley's grandmother, Lonie Barnes who will turn 100 in two months. She won't make this one because of health concerns, he said. But a sister will be there, along with nieces and nephews. Standing by his side during the presentation will be his wife Rebekah and their children: Micah, 18; Mason, 13; and Mia, 10.
"It's a joke around the house that when my kids leave, I tell them, 'Don't embarrass the name,''' Michael Finley was saying. "I always tell them, 'At the end of the day, all you have is your name and you don't want to do something embarrassing that has a negative effect on the family.'
"With my number being retired, I tell them now, 'Your name is even bigger because everybody will know what that name and number represents. It's something you can be proud of. And, hopefully, when you come back with your kids, you can see our name in the rafters of this prestigious university.''
Rebekah Finley is a VP (community affairs and volunteering) for Finley's Foundation. They met while he was playing for the Dallas Mavericks with whom he's now an assistant General Manager/VP of Basketball Operations. On her impact, he said, "She kept me on point when it came to being a professional all the time. She lets me know when I'm wrong. She congratulates me when I'm right.''
Finley knows how proud his loved ones will be Sunday at the Kohl Center. They won't be alone.
"Howard Moore will be as proud as anybody,'' he said of the former UW assistant who has been under supervised home care for injuries suffered during a 2019 car accident which took the lives of his wife Jennifer and daughter Jaidyn. His son, Jerell, also survived the crash. Since returning to his alma mater in 2015, Moore has campaigned for embracing the program's history. Starting with Finley.
"He was fighting for me because he thought it was a well-deserved honor that had never happened,'' he recalled. "Each conversation we had about my jersey retirement, I said, 'Howard, when it happens, it happens.' He'd say, 'No, you deserve it now.' He was my biggest fan when it came to this.
"I know he'll be watching from home, and I know that he'll be super proud. I would love to see him, and I've reached out to his mom to have that opportunity (to visit). That would be icing on the cake for me. But if not, like I said, I know he will be watching, and I'll be out there representing him as well.''
Finley's late agent, Chicago-based Henry Thomas, will be on his mind, too, and represented by his widow here Sunday. Maybe it's only fitting that Michigan will be the opponent at the Kohl Center since Finley and Wolverines head coach Juwan Howard have a friendship that dates back to their Chicago area upbringings. Finley starred at Proviso East High School and Howard at Chicago Vocational.
"He's one of my best friends, our families are really close,'' Finley said. "We were teammates in Dallas for a brief stint. We've been in contact daily, weekly. I've told him in a subtle way that he's a part of this (jersey retirement) because of the battles that we had when he was at Michigan. He helped propel me to want to be better. It's great that he will be in the house and part of the celebration.''
Finley and the Badgers enjoyed some special moments against Howard, the 6-9 power forward, and the Fab Five. A couple of days after UW head coach Steve Yoder announced his resignation effective at the end of the 1992 season, Wisconsin upset Michigan, 96-78, at the Field House. Finley, a true freshman, was on the floor for 37 minutes and accounted for 30 points and 13 rebounds.
In 1994, the Badgers, under coach Stu Jackson, upended the Wolverines again, 71-58, in Madison. It snapped No. 3 ranked Michigan's nine-game winning streak. Finley was once again a catalyst with 20 points and 6 rebounds in 39 minutes. He also limited Jalen Rose to 15. Meanwhile, Rashard Griffith got the better of the low post play by holding Howard to 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting.
During Finley's senior season, under Van Gundy, Wisconsin knocked off the Wolverines yet again, 70-65, in front of a sell-out crowd of 11,500 at the Field House. Finley played all 40 minutes and had a game-high 29 points, including 15 of 17 from the free throw line. Jimmy King and Ray Jackson were the only holdovers from the Fab Five. Nonetheless, Finley always welcomed measuring sticks.
"We were all the same age and that freshman class had to be one of the best in the history of college basketball,'' Finley said. "Just knowing those guys, just growing up with those guys, it was a kind of competitiveness that they brought out of you because you wanted to beat them. Michigan was one of the better teams in the country so if you did well against them, you did yourself justice.''
Those three wins over the celebrated Wolverines are surely part of his legacy at Wisconsin. Along with ending that NCAA tournament drought. Along with his 2,147 points, the second most in school history. Along with being the only UW player to ever average 20 or more points in three different seasons. In fact, he was the last Badger to average 20. How, though, does Finley see that legacy?
"When people think about me at the university, they saw a kid who always wanted to do the right thing and who always wanted to do whatever it took to win basketball games,'' said Finley who will turn 49 in early March. "I was a hard worker and a sore loser. But I was a guy that led a team to successes that they hadn't had in a long time. And it's something I'm very proud to be a part of.''
Finley has enjoyed watching highlights of this season's Wisconsin team compete. And win. He still talks about the Badgers in the "we'' context. As in, "It was a big win for us last night.'' He was referencing Tuesday's victory at Indiana. That loyalty is something he shares with Tracy Webster, a Mavericks scout, a former UW teammate, a close friend and one of the players returning here Sunday.
Addressing the Badgers success, Finley said, "They're doing all the right things to be put in the conversation when it comes to being one of the better teams in the country. It feels good to give me bragging rights when I talk to some of my colleagues from other Big Ten schools (Dallas owner Mark Cuban is an IU grad) knowing that I have a really great basketball team to be proud of.''
Finley was touched to learn that Wisconsin sophomore Jordan Davis had switched in October from the No. 24 jersey that he wore last season to No. 2 out of respect to Finley and that trailblazing 1994 UW team that got the Badgers back into the Big Dance after nearly a five-decade absence. Although the number 24 won't be taken out of circulation, it was the thought that counted for Finley.
"Kudos not only to him (Jordan) but to his family,'' Finley said. "It just shows you his upbringing. It just shows you that his parents have placed a foundation in his life knowing that it's not all about him. It's about being better and when you can lend a helping hand to someone else, do it. In a sense, he kind of did that for me. So, I'm very appreciative to the young kid and his family.''
Finley is prepared for nostalgic flashbacks when No. 24 is raised to the rafters.
"I'll be more happy for everyone who was involved in that journey,'' Finley said, "whether it was my family, my teammates, the coaches or Badger nation in general. Just the students I went to school from '91 to '95, they're all part of that jersey being retired because they were a part of this journey. They celebrated with me when we had the big wins. They cried with me when we had the big losses.
"Everyone from that era is part of this celebration and that jersey going up.
"From that standpoint, it will be emotionally a little heavy. But I will be forever grateful.''
And 24ever most deserving.
