Wednesday, March 12, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
If this is indeed Larry Finch's final game at Memphis, he will leave the Thomas & Mack Center without regret -- though there's no guarantee he'll depart with a dry eye.
After all, when you've given virtually your entire adult life to one entity and they tell you you're no longer welcome, you can't help but have some of your emotional strings tugged.
Finch's 11-year run as the coach of the Tigers is nearing its end. Maybe it comes at 9 tonight against a 20-9 UNLV team which is trying to finish a successful run on a special note.
"I have nothing to be ashamed of," Finch said as he prepared his team for the opening-round NIT contest against the Rebels. "The record speaks for itself."
And an impressive record it is. A 220-129 overall mark. Nine trips to the postseason, including six NCAA Tournament appearances. The recruitment of some exceptional athletes, including Penny Hardaway and Lorenzen Wright. No off-the-court problems, which is an exceptional accomplishment given the state of the program in 1986.
The Tigers were on NCAA probation thanks to the antics of former coach Dana Kirk. But Charles Cavagnaro, who was Memphis' athletic director at the time, knew Finch had a clean background and a sense of duty and honor to the school where he had played and coached.
Finch got the Tigers competitive on the court and he made sure things were done right off it.
"I'll always be grateful to Charlie Cavagnaro for giving me a chance," Finch said.
Still, it comes down to more than running a clean program. You need to win and you need to make money and the Tigers were struggling to do both. The 20,000-seat Pyramid has not been selling out and it took a strong stretch run for Memphis to produce a winning record and get into the NIT at 16-14.
But the Tigers are here. And Finch, who accepted a buyout of the remaining three years of his contract Jan. 30, still is the coach.
"It's a great feeling, especially with all that I've been through the past two months," he said of still playing in mid-March. "When you go through what I've been through, it effects the kids. But they've been tremendous with their support and with how hard they've played. It means a lot to me."
Finch doesn't hold a grudge against his alma mater. The administration? That's another story.
"It wasn't the university. To me, the university is the students," he said. "But you have some administrators who came in from the outside who didn't understand what we're about. It's two, three people making a decision.
"I have no problem with them letting me go. My problem's with the timing. Do it before the season or wait until after if you want to make a change. Don't put the kids through this."
And if tonight is indeed the end of Finch's 11-year run, he's ready to move on and stay in the game. He is a leading candidate for the vacancy at Jacksonville.
"I've told my kids that the mark of a man is how you handle adversity. I've been talking this and preaching this all these years. Now I have to show them that I can handle it this way."
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