NCDS: Jim Corrigan, Assoc. Head Coach - Old Dominion ("A Special Player")

Every now and then, as a coach, you have the opportunity to work with a young man who makes an incredible impact on your program, and on you as a coach and person.  We have had the privilege of coaching just such a young man for the last 4 years at Old Dominion.  Ben Finney is one of those rare athletes that can change the course of an entire program, and he has done that with us.  There are many words that describe Ben: winner, warrior, leader, heart, competitor, and more.  And they are all accurate.  More than anything Ben Finney wants to win, and is willing to do whatever it takes, and whatever is needed, to win.  He doesn’t care if he scores, gets a rebound, gets a loose ball, gets a steal, as long as ODU gets a win!!  I like to believe that if you look up the word warrior in the dictionary you will find a picture of Ben.

John Wooden defined competitive greatness as ‘being at your best when your best is needed.’  And that is what Ben Finney has done his entire career.  Statistics alone can not tell the story of what Ben does for a team.  However, sometimes the stats do paint a picture of an athlete’s contribution to a particular game.  For instance, a couple of weeks ago we were faced with a road game against our fiercest rival that was a must-win for us to stay in contention in the league race.  They had already beaten us at home, and a loss would be a big blow to our goals and aspirations for this season.    Ben had 15 points, 11 rebounds (8 offensive), 6 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal in leading us to a convincing win.  It was one of his most complete performances of his career.  Playing in a game where we were pressed start to finish, he had only 1 turnover in 33 minutes of play.  That performance typifies what Ben has done since the day he arrived, and what he has meant to our program.

Ben is a great athlete who has slightly better than average athletic ability.  Most of what he gets done on the court is a result of toughness, determination, heart, desire, and sacrifice.  Ben is not the fastest player, the highest jumper, the quickest, or the strongest; he just wants it more than 99% of the players out there.  Standing 6’3 ½” barefoot, Ben is quick to point out that he plays the game in shoes, which make him about 6’5”!!  Rebounding has always been one of his strengths.  He led our team in rebounding as a sophomore, and has been our second leading rebounder in each of the other three seasons.  This is remarkable for a player who plays the 2/3 position, a perimeter player who often finds himself behind the three-point line when shots go up.  Ben has out-worked, out-hustled, and out-fought bigger and more talented players for rebounds for 4 years.  Every game he comes up with at least one rebound that we had no business getting!!  This determination has been contagious, and has made our entire team play harder and tougher each and every game.

When you look at Ben’s statistics they do not truly tell the story of his value to our program.  During Ben’s tenure his class established itself as the all-time winningest class in the history of Old Dominion basketball with 97 wins.  Included in that is four straight years of post season play, a CIT championship, a Paradise Jam Championship (Ben was named MVP), two CAA Championships, and two NCAA Tournaments (including a win over Notre Dame in 2010). Also along the way Ben hit numerous big shots that changed the course of many games.  He was recognized as an All-Conference performer only once (3^rd Team) as a junior.  But Ben only cares about one thing: winning.  And Ben will be a winner whenever his playing days are done.  He will be the first member of his family to earn a college degree.  Now that is a truly great win for us all!!!!

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