He’s never been one to shy away from mixing it up inside, though that sometimes puts him at risk.
At Detroit Mercy last season, he took a forearm to the head while scrambling for a rebound. He missed the rest of that game and the next one, too.
He also had a scary fall while playing for Champaign (Ill.) Central High School in a showdown with Peoria Manual.
“They’re a really good school historically, and I was playing against Da’Monte Williams — he plays at Illinois now — and we were going head-to-head,” Finke said. “I was going for the board, and somebody undercut me. And my head slammed (against the court).”
He had a concussion but didn’t know it. After a brief stint on the bench, he brushed it off and went back in.
“I remember I was so sensitive to the light. I was dizzy. Everything was just off,” he said.
“It all hit at once. I was like, ‘I probably shouldn’t have done this.’”
Though Finke may pay a price at times for his rugged style, he’s giving the Raiders exactly what they need.
He made the Horizon League’s all-defensive team last season, and, despite being at a disadvantage with his 6-6, 215-pound frame, has turned into one of the conference’s best rebounders.
His 7.0 average was 10th in the league and the top mark among guards. He also scored 10 points per game while shooting 41.3% on 3′s.
Coach Scott Nagy said Finke has been practicing “at a really high level both offensively and defensively, and we expect him to do the same this season. He shot 40% from 3, and we need him to do that.
“He may score more this year. I don’t need that to be a goal for him. I don’t need that to be a goal for anybody. My concern is, can you be a great defender and great rebounder? And Tim does both of those.”
Finke (pronounced FINK-ee) tallied 2,015 points in high school to become the all-time leading scorer in the Champaign-Urbana area.
He began his career at Grand Canyon University, playing for former NBA star Dan Majerle (who has since been fired), before transferring to Wright State and sitting out the 2019-2020 season.
The fourth-year junior — he’s on pace to graduate this spring with a degree in communications — still intends to do the dirty work for the Raiders, but he dedicated his offseason to be becoming a more well-rounded player.
“I’ve always been able to bring energy on defense, but with offense, I wanted to take a step forward with that,” he said.
“I was able to get a lot of work in with coach (Travis) Trice on finishing around the rim, my touch and being consistent shooting off the dribble and on catch-and-shoots. I think I’ll be able to make a jump there.”
Grand Canyon U., located in Phoenix, Ariz., is considered the largest Christian college in the world with 20,000 students on campus and 70,000 online.
Finke — ranked as the No. 2 recruit in Illinois in the 2018 class by ESPN.com — picked the school in part because he was hoping to grow spiritually.
“My faith is super important to me in how I try to operate every day,” he said.
He’s still getting ample support in that area at Wright State. Nagy is a committed Christian, as are some of the staff and players.
“There’s a lot of people around me that share similar beliefs and mindsets, and it’s been fun to bounce things off each other and grow and learn,” Finke said.
“That plays into how close we are and in being loving toward each other. I feel we’ll have a good year, and I’m excited for it because we’ve gotten closer and closer the more we’ve been together.”
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