Badgers’ Finley Rises to Top of Cream

Put Wisconsin’s Michael Finley on a team with the best college basketball players in the country, and Finley stands out every time.

Last summer, he played on the Goodwill Games team, coached by George Raveling, with Scotty Thurman and Corey Beck of Arkansas, Alan Henderson of Indiana, Cherokee Parks of Duke, Shawn Respert of Michigan State and Damon Stoudamire of Arizona.

The leading scorer? Finley.

The summer before, Finley played on the World University Games gold-medal team. Once again, he was the U.S. team’s leading scorer, and USA Basketball named him its male athlete of the year.

One reason Finley--a versatile 6-foot-7 forward and potential NBA lottery pick--is far better known by NBA scouts than college basketball fans is that only three of Wisconsin’s regular season games were on national television last season, and he has played in only two NCAA tournament games.

Still, he had three 30-point games last season, among them a 36-point effort in a loss to Missouri in a second-round NCAA game.

Finley wasn’t the star at Chicago’s Proviso East High School’s Class AA state champions. Donnie Boyce, now of Colorado, was. Finley signed early with Wisconsin, then coached by Steve Yoder.

Four years later, Raveling and Dick Vitale consider Finley one of the country’s best-kept secrets, though word has spread enough that he’s a preseason first-team All-American and on some short lists for player of the year. Still, even after Finley averaged 20.4 points and 6.7 rebounds as a junior for an 18-11 Wisconsin team, his hometown Chicago Tribune confused him in its preseason coverage with teammate Rashard Griffith.

His NBA stock--already high--will be enhanced by his reputation with the many coaches he has played for, from Stu Jackson and Raveling to Jim Harrick and UC Irvine’s Rod Baker, who were assistant coaches on the World University Games team.

“His ability is only matched by his character,” Jackson said. “He’s a tremendous young man who does not need the game of basketball. He’s only going to get better because he’s very goal-oriented.”

Wisconsin Coach Stan Van Gundy says “there may be guys in a single game who are capable of putting up bigger numbers or really exploding. But when you look over the course of 30 games, 29 games, whatever, he’ll get more done than almost anybody in the country.

“He can do so many things besides score. He can rebound, he can defend, he can pass the ball, he’s got great leadership ability. I mean he’s a dream.

“I hope the people of Wisconsin pay attention this year because he’s not going to be here for many more games and there aren’t going to be many guys like him come through.”