Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 , Loss , 74, to, 79
M Basketball
at Baylor
L 74-79
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Finke joins GCU, brother
4/26/2018 9:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Illinois transfer offers more big man versatility
The Finkes have a tight family with four siblings who grew up within five years of age and on the same driveway basketball court.
Michael loves his youngest brother, Tim, but his transfer to Grand Canyon's basketball team was no shoo-in just because Tim already had signed with GCU in November.
Michael, with 50 career starts at Illinois, was an attractive graduate transfer for more than 60 programs who reached out to him this spring. The 6-foot-10 power forward took 15 in-home visits. He picked five schools for campus visits – Stanford, Vanderbilt, Nevada, Penn State and GCU.
"I really could've seen myself with every school but with having Coach (Dan) Majerle's NBA success as the head coach and leading the charge and having Mr. (Jerry) Colangelo be part of it as probably the most successful person in the world of basketball right now, having my brother there was just a plus," Michael Finke said of choosing the Lopes for his senior season. "GCU is moving in the right direction and ready to make a lot of noise. It's going to be really good down the road and I'm anxious to be a part of that and be a part of something special."
Finke averaged 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game with 49.1 percent shooting last season for Illinois. As a graduate, he is eligible to play this season for GCU, which loses starting power forward Keonta Vernon to graduation.
Finke will be a fifth-year senior who has a mix of perimeter shooting and post-up ability to play alongside the Lopes' returning versatile big men – All-Western Athletic Conference first-team pick Alessandro Lever, Matt Jackson and Roberts Blumbergs.
"He wants to show what he can do," Majerle said. "In our offense, I think he'll have an opportunity to be a big piece of us being very successful with his size, Rob and Alessandro. I like his versatility – be able to step out on pick-and-rolls and shoot the 3s, post up smaller guys, rebound and be competitive."
The opportunity to play with one of his brothers (the other, Nick, plays for Army) is just as rare as the chance to be in school with him. Michael and Tim never attended school together, except for one year of home-schooling from their mother, Laura, 11 years ago.
Michael and Tim played organized basketball together once on a recreational league team when Michael was in high school in Champaign, Ill., where their father, Jeff, is a high school basketball coach and a former Illinois basketball and football player.
"I'm really looking forward to it," Michael said of playing with Tim. "It's something a lot of people don't get a chance to do and an opportunity that I couldn't pass up."
He also was drawn by the GCU coaching staff's drive to reach the NCAA tournament, which he did not get to do at Illinois. He is expecting "a breakout year" to get back to the shooting he had in 2016-17, when he made 41 percent of his 3-pointers. He connected on 31 percent this season as the program underwent a coaching change.
"That's something I want to get back to, shooting it more consistently like I have in the past and really better than I ever have," Finke said. "I can put the ball on the floor and make some plays. I can go inside and do some work in there. I'm always going to go to the boards and give 100 percent all the time to help the team win."
"We (Lever and I) will be doing similar stuff that will be a nightmare matchup for a lot of teams. Having two bigs who can stretch it, go inside and make basketball plays is tough to guard."
The Colangelo College of Business swung Finke despite such prestigious academic options as Stanford and Vanderbilt. Majerle's offense and Finke's fit in it swung the 22-year-old despite Sweet 16 team Nevada's interest.
When the Lopes played at Illinois on Nov. 30, Finke made a 3-pointer late in the game to give Illinois its first lead on the way to a 62-58 win. This November, he can use his smart play to help GCU win alongside Tim, a 6-foot-6 guard who was a four-star recruit with 2,015 high school points.
"Michael is somebody who wants to get better and further his career," Majerle said. "This will be a chance for him to prove he can be successful in this offense. Going to the NCAA tournament was a big priority for him. He understood that all those things at GCU were part of it. Playing with his brother is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Michael loves his youngest brother, Tim, but his transfer to Grand Canyon's basketball team was no shoo-in just because Tim already had signed with GCU in November.
Michael, with 50 career starts at Illinois, was an attractive graduate transfer for more than 60 programs who reached out to him this spring. The 6-foot-10 power forward took 15 in-home visits. He picked five schools for campus visits – Stanford, Vanderbilt, Nevada, Penn State and GCU.
"I really could've seen myself with every school but with having Coach (Dan) Majerle's NBA success as the head coach and leading the charge and having Mr. (Jerry) Colangelo be part of it as probably the most successful person in the world of basketball right now, having my brother there was just a plus," Michael Finke said of choosing the Lopes for his senior season. "GCU is moving in the right direction and ready to make a lot of noise. It's going to be really good down the road and I'm anxious to be a part of that and be a part of something special."
Finke averaged 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game with 49.1 percent shooting last season for Illinois. As a graduate, he is eligible to play this season for GCU, which loses starting power forward Keonta Vernon to graduation.
Finke will be a fifth-year senior who has a mix of perimeter shooting and post-up ability to play alongside the Lopes' returning versatile big men – All-Western Athletic Conference first-team pick Alessandro Lever, Matt Jackson and Roberts Blumbergs.
"He wants to show what he can do," Majerle said. "In our offense, I think he'll have an opportunity to be a big piece of us being very successful with his size, Rob and Alessandro. I like his versatility – be able to step out on pick-and-rolls and shoot the 3s, post up smaller guys, rebound and be competitive."
The opportunity to play with one of his brothers (the other, Nick, plays for Army) is just as rare as the chance to be in school with him. Michael and Tim never attended school together, except for one year of home-schooling from their mother, Laura, 11 years ago.
Michael and Tim played organized basketball together once on a recreational league team when Michael was in high school in Champaign, Ill., where their father, Jeff, is a high school basketball coach and a former Illinois basketball and football player.
"I'm really looking forward to it," Michael said of playing with Tim. "It's something a lot of people don't get a chance to do and an opportunity that I couldn't pass up."
He also was drawn by the GCU coaching staff's drive to reach the NCAA tournament, which he did not get to do at Illinois. He is expecting "a breakout year" to get back to the shooting he had in 2016-17, when he made 41 percent of his 3-pointers. He connected on 31 percent this season as the program underwent a coaching change.
"That's something I want to get back to, shooting it more consistently like I have in the past and really better than I ever have," Finke said. "I can put the ball on the floor and make some plays. I can go inside and do some work in there. I'm always going to go to the boards and give 100 percent all the time to help the team win."
"We (Lever and I) will be doing similar stuff that will be a nightmare matchup for a lot of teams. Having two bigs who can stretch it, go inside and make basketball plays is tough to guard."
The Colangelo College of Business swung Finke despite such prestigious academic options as Stanford and Vanderbilt. Majerle's offense and Finke's fit in it swung the 22-year-old despite Sweet 16 team Nevada's interest.
When the Lopes played at Illinois on Nov. 30, Finke made a 3-pointer late in the game to give Illinois its first lead on the way to a 62-58 win. This November, he can use his smart play to help GCU win alongside Tim, a 6-foot-6 guard who was a four-star recruit with 2,015 high school points.
"Michael is somebody who wants to get better and further his career," Majerle said. "This will be a chance for him to prove he can be successful in this offense. Going to the NCAA tournament was a big priority for him. He understood that all those things at GCU were part of it. Playing with his brother is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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