Michael Finke didn’t finish his college basketball career at Illinois, but he’s going to be back on the hardwood with some former Illini teammates.
Finke, a native of Champaign, is the latest former player to be added to the Illinois alumni roster for The Basketball Tournament, a team oriented event that is scheduled to take place later in the summer, provided that the COVID-19 pandemic loosens the grip that it has on the nation by then.
Finke is back home in Champaign after playing professionally in both Poland and Estonia, and he’s using the time away from the court to train and get stronger by lifting weights.
“It’s a big honor to be selected to play for the Illinois and play alongside some of the guys that I played with when I was a Fighting Illini, and also to play for a good chunk of change too (the winning team gets $2 million)”, Finke said.
The Illinois TBT squad is being headed up by former Illinois walk-on Mike LaTulip. Fans can follow the University of Illinois Alumni Basketball Team on Twitter @IlliniTBT and follow the TBT @thetournament.
Finke’s season with Kalev/Cramo in Estonia ended abruptly when one of his assistant coaches tested positive for the disease. According to Finke, the team left the country shortly after that incident.
“When our coach tested positive, we self-quarantined ourselves and then left about a week and a half later,” Finked said. “I personally never got tested myself since I didn’t have any of the systems, but now we are all back home and things are going well.”
Finke is continuing to train for not only the upcoming basketball tournament, but a return overseas eventually to resume his pro career. He’s currently passing the time by driving a delivery van for Amazon, one of the businesses that are essential in this unique time.
“It’s a good chance for me to make some extra money while I continue to train at the same time, and since I’m so tall they have a special white van for me to drive that has added leg room,” Finke said.
Finke will join the likes of Nnanna Egwu, Rayvonte Rice, Malcolm Hill, Leron Black and Andres Feliz on the Illinois alumni team, and although all those players suited up for the Illini within the last five seasons, only Hill played on the same floor as Finke.
“My redshirt year (2014-15), Nnanna (Egwu) and Ray (Rice) was on the team, so I never actually shared the floor with them. I was teammates with both Leron (Black) and Malcolm (Hill) my final two seasons at Illinois, so it will be nice to play alongside those guys once again,” Finke said.
Finke’s professional career began in Poland with Legia Warszawa, switched teams to Estonia to a more competitive league, but still counts his experience with seeing another part of the world as one of the highlights of his career so far.
“I was in Poland for about 5 months, and then went to Estonia,” Finke said. “That was right when things were beginning over there, and since Estonia is such a small country, the more outbreaks (about 100 cases) they had, the country essentially shut down, which is why we left to come back stateside,” Finke said.
Although Finke and his fiancée were in two different countries, and in larger cities in those countries, they made the best of the situation in all facets.
“The experience was incredible and not just for the basketball piece,” he said. “There are so many historic sites in those countries and the chance to travel the world this way is well worth it.”
Finke played at Illinois for three seasons, and then chose to go out to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona to play as a graduate transfer his final season.
“Actually, it was one of the toughest decisions that I’ve ever had to make,” Finke said. “I took about five visits on my quest to find a school to transfer to as a graduate, and even my younger brother Tim was out there playing, it wasn’t 100% that GCU would be the place that I would end up at.”
But, ultimately, Phoenix was the choice and Finke doesn’t regret the decision one bit.
“Playing for Coach (Dan) Majerle and the whole experience out at Grand Canyon was one of the best things about that year,” Finke said. “The GCU Arena is one of the best atmospheres in all of college basketball, and even though I’ve played in all of the Big Ten arenas, nowhere even comes close to matching what playing in that arena is like.”
The fact that Grand Canyon, which was started by former Illinois alum and Phoenix Suns president Jerry Colangelo, didn’t hurt Finke’s decision to enroll out there.
As far as what Finke thinks of the current Illinois team and what they did this season, he believes that the momentum that Brad Underwood has created from a recruiting standpoint will do nothing but propel this team as the team moves in to the 2020-21 season.
“From going to one of the worst records in program history to a sure NCAA Tournament berth and a deep run in the tourney, Coach Underwood is creating something with the recruiting that he has been doing,” Finke said. “They should continue to be one of the better teams in the Big Ten for the foreseeable future if things continue at the level they are going.”
As far as what’s next for Finke, besides The Basketball Tournament which is scheduled to begin in late July and go through August, he is planning to relocate temporarily to the Phoenix area and is still hoping for a July wedding, which at this time, is up in the air with the current state of the pandemic.
“We are still hoping to get married in July, but we might have to shelve that plan and just get married at the courthouse and then have a larger celebration later, including a honeymoon, once conditions approve,” Finke said.
With the status of The Basketball Tournament still in limbo, Finke knows that whatever the near future holds for him, he’ll be prepared for the situation, nonetheless.
