Henry Finkel
Birthdate: April 20, 1942
Birthplace: Union City, New Jersey
High School: Holy Family, Union City, New Jersey (1961)
College: University of Dayton (1966)
Year Inducted: 2014
Few players have had a greater impact on basketball at the University of Dayton than Henry Finkel, the 7-footer who played center for the Flyers from 1963-1966.
Dayton teams had a 60-23 record and reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament twice during Finkel’s three seasons as the UD center.
Finkel averaged 23 points and 13 rebounds as a sophomore, 25.3 and 14.9 as a junior and 22.7 and 12.1 as a senior, leading Dayton to records of 15-10, 22-7 and 23-6.
The Flyers were bounced from the NCAA tournament by No. 1-ranked Michigan in 1965 and by No. 1-ranked Kentucky in 1966.
Finkel, who roamed under the basket and was very accurate with hook shots and short jumpers, made .619 percent of his field goal attempts.
When he graduated, Finkel was UD’s all-time leading scorer, with 1,968 points, and he still ranks third. He holds the school records for points in a season (733) and highest scoring average in a single season (25.3) and career (23.7).
Finkel played nine seasons (1966-75) in the NBA. Drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, he also played for the San Diego Rockets and Boston Celtics. He was a member of Boston’s 1974 NBA championship team.
