Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/47210
MICHAEL FINLEY It really wasn't a big deal to Finley, who was overshadowed by two of his own high school teammates — Sherell Ford and Donnie Boyce — at Proviso East in Maywood, Ill. University of Detroit coach Ray McCallum, A then a Badger assistant under Steve Yoder, was the lead recruiter on Finley and, from the begin- ning, saw the vast upside in Finley's game. That's an understatement, too. McCallum saw things that maybe nobody else saw when Finley was still very much a work in progress; especial- ly physically. He was long, lean and raw. On Feb. 1, 1992, while Finley was still in the midst of completing his freshman season, Mc- Callum told the Madison Capital Times, "I think Michael Finley is going to be the all-time leading scorer here.'' That season, Finley averaged 12.3 points; not an overwhelming validation for potential star- dom. Nonetheless, McCallum was convinced that Finley had all the requisite skills to be a very special player. "If he's not the best, he'll be one of the top three all-time players ever at the University of Wisconsin,'' McCallum insisted. "The kid has pro ability written all over him. He's going to be a pro.'' McCallum turned out to be a prophet. By the time Finley concluded his college ca- reer with the Badgers, he was the school's all- time leading scorer with 2,147 points, surpass- ing the previous record-holder Danny Jones. Finley, a first-round pick of the Phoenix Suns in the 1995 draft, went on to play 15 seasons in the NBA with Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio and Boston. In 2007, he was on the Spurs champion- ship team. 42 » VARSITY NOVEMBER 10, 2011 Finley's legacy as one of the Badgers' all-time greats will be forever preserved with last week's announcement that he will endow the Michael Finley Foundation Scholarship at UW. Although he's technically retired, the 38-year- old Finley hasn't completely shut the door on playing another season in the league assuming that the current lockout is resolved in timely fashion. Obviously, it would have to be the right situ- ation for Finley; a situation, perhaps, calling for his steady, calming presence as a veteran leader and mentor on a team seeking those qualities. For now, he's focusing on the Michael Finley Foundation; a non-profit founded in 2003. To this end, it was recently announced that Finley is endowing an annual scholarship through his foundation for an African-American student-athlete at Wisconsin. Finley's presence on the Madison campus last weekend rekindled fond memories from his s a UW freshman, Michael Finley was overshadowed by a handful of other first-year bas- ketball players in the Big Ten; five other players to be exact — Michigan's Fab Five.