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Grand Canyon University Athletics
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Coro: How GCU found, fit Finke
11/17/2017 9:53:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes connected with top hoop recruit in 2 months
It has taken more than four years for Grand Canyon to build a strong Division I men's basketball program.
It took only the last two months to alter the future of it.
The Lopes met Tim Finke in mid-September. This week, the 6-foot-6 guard from Champaign, Ill., signed a GCU letter of intent and became the program's most touted signee ever.
In between, GCU assistant coach T.J. Benson visited Finke in Illinois five times. Majerle joined Benson on one visit. Finke and his parents decided to visit GCU two weeks ago. Finke, once rated as high as No. 22 nationally in the Class of 2018, left Phoenix feeling he had found his next home and followed through with this week's signing.
After Benson left his final Champaign visit Tuesday, he told Finke in parting, "I have a feeling you know what you want to do. You just need to make sure everybody is on board with it."
Finke nodded. Benson barely had ordered food a mile away when Finke called Majerle with a commitment.
"Whoa, really?" Majerle responded. "You just made my night."
Finke had been sitting in the family room with his parents when his pervading thought for two weeks became an action.
"I felt like if any school in the country walked in and said, 'I want you,' I wouldn't even care," Finke said. "I want to go to Grand Canyon. I don't even care if anybody else walked in here. If I got to that point, why wait? My parents were all for it."
The reaction was better than Finke even expected. Even his classmates who did not know about GCU returned to him amazed after they watched videos depicting the GCU Arena and Havocs game scene.
Finke and his parents, Jeff and Laura, know the feeling. They were impressed with what the Lopes coaches shared and what their research showed about GCU academic and athletic ambiance. Then they saw it in person.
Their expressions changed when the Havocs raced down the arena stairs to claim the closest seats possible.
"Me and my mom looked at each other and didn't even say anything," Finke said. "We're like, 'This place is special.' It was crazy how many students were there. I've never seen an atmosphere like that. And it was an exhibition game. That was crazy. Me and my mom were sitting there speechless. The whole game, too, they never stopped for anything. They were up 40 and they were still doing it."
Finke also met GCU President Brian Mueller and GCU academic and athletic mainstay Jerry Colangelo, the USA Basketball managing director and Basketball Hall of Fame chairman. Finke was pinching himself for having dinner with Colangelo, a former University of Illinois athlete like Finke's father, in Phoenix.
"The visit showed them that what we'd been telling them was the truth and even more," Benson said. "I think we exceeded their expectations."
Finke was a highly touted player who received 15 offers from major Division I schools on the first day college coaches could call him two years ago. His offer list grew to 22, almost exclusively from "Power Five" conference schools, but not all of them stuck with their recruiting.
Finke said he recently had been talking to Boston College, Louisville and Northern Iowa but was prioritizing his fit into a university and a program over national status.
GCU distinguished itself, starting with the way he and Benson connected for extensive conversations beyond basketball. Finke said he felt a different level of care and attention from academic representatives during his campus visit.
"I never came across another school, out of all the schools that recruited me, that was as unique as this with all aspects," Finke said. "Everybody seemed to care so much about you. That was something I never felt like at other schools as much as I did there. That drew me so much closer. The connection to GCU was strong. I couldn't be happier with what's to come."
Majerle saw a lot of himself in Finke – a 6-foot-6 Midwestern shooter and grinder – "and I can dunk a little bit too," Finke said. When Majerle flew to Chicago and drove to Champaign, he visited for more than an hour with Finke and his parents in the Champaign Central High School gym where Finke will open his senior season Tuesday for the team his dad coaches.
That talk with Majerle sealed their plans to visit GCU.
Majerle and Benson still will make another trip to Champaign on Dec. 30, when the Lopes play at Illinois. One of Finke's two college basketball brothers, Michael, plays for the Illini. His other older brother, Nick, plays for Army.
"If my brother can go off but GCU pulls off the 'W,' that will sit perfectly for me," Finke said.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
It took only the last two months to alter the future of it.
The Lopes met Tim Finke in mid-September. This week, the 6-foot-6 guard from Champaign, Ill., signed a GCU letter of intent and became the program's most touted signee ever.
In between, GCU assistant coach T.J. Benson visited Finke in Illinois five times. Majerle joined Benson on one visit. Finke and his parents decided to visit GCU two weeks ago. Finke, once rated as high as No. 22 nationally in the Class of 2018, left Phoenix feeling he had found his next home and followed through with this week's signing.
After Benson left his final Champaign visit Tuesday, he told Finke in parting, "I have a feeling you know what you want to do. You just need to make sure everybody is on board with it."
Finke nodded. Benson barely had ordered food a mile away when Finke called Majerle with a commitment.
"Whoa, really?" Majerle responded. "You just made my night."
Finke had been sitting in the family room with his parents when his pervading thought for two weeks became an action.
"I felt like if any school in the country walked in and said, 'I want you,' I wouldn't even care," Finke said. "I want to go to Grand Canyon. I don't even care if anybody else walked in here. If I got to that point, why wait? My parents were all for it."
The reaction was better than Finke even expected. Even his classmates who did not know about GCU returned to him amazed after they watched videos depicting the GCU Arena and Havocs game scene.
Finke and his parents, Jeff and Laura, know the feeling. They were impressed with what the Lopes coaches shared and what their research showed about GCU academic and athletic ambiance. Then they saw it in person.
Their expressions changed when the Havocs raced down the arena stairs to claim the closest seats possible.
"Me and my mom looked at each other and didn't even say anything," Finke said. "We're like, 'This place is special.' It was crazy how many students were there. I've never seen an atmosphere like that. And it was an exhibition game. That was crazy. Me and my mom were sitting there speechless. The whole game, too, they never stopped for anything. They were up 40 and they were still doing it."
Finke also met GCU President Brian Mueller and GCU academic and athletic mainstay Jerry Colangelo, the USA Basketball managing director and Basketball Hall of Fame chairman. Finke was pinching himself for having dinner with Colangelo, a former University of Illinois athlete like Finke's father, in Phoenix.
"The visit showed them that what we'd been telling them was the truth and even more," Benson said. "I think we exceeded their expectations."
Finke was a highly touted player who received 15 offers from major Division I schools on the first day college coaches could call him two years ago. His offer list grew to 22, almost exclusively from "Power Five" conference schools, but not all of them stuck with their recruiting.
Finke said he recently had been talking to Boston College, Louisville and Northern Iowa but was prioritizing his fit into a university and a program over national status.
GCU distinguished itself, starting with the way he and Benson connected for extensive conversations beyond basketball. Finke said he felt a different level of care and attention from academic representatives during his campus visit.
"I never came across another school, out of all the schools that recruited me, that was as unique as this with all aspects," Finke said. "Everybody seemed to care so much about you. That was something I never felt like at other schools as much as I did there. That drew me so much closer. The connection to GCU was strong. I couldn't be happier with what's to come."
Majerle saw a lot of himself in Finke – a 6-foot-6 Midwestern shooter and grinder – "and I can dunk a little bit too," Finke said. When Majerle flew to Chicago and drove to Champaign, he visited for more than an hour with Finke and his parents in the Champaign Central High School gym where Finke will open his senior season Tuesday for the team his dad coaches.
That talk with Majerle sealed their plans to visit GCU.
Majerle and Benson still will make another trip to Champaign on Dec. 30, when the Lopes play at Illinois. One of Finke's two college basketball brothers, Michael, plays for the Illini. His other older brother, Nick, plays for Army.
"If my brother can go off but GCU pulls off the 'W,' that will sit perfectly for me," Finke said.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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