Larry O. Finch (February 16, 1951 – April 2, 2011) was a player and coach for the University of Memphis men's basketball team. He is perhaps most famous for leading the Memphis Tigers to the NCAA men's basketball championship game in 1973 in a heroic loss to the UCLA Bruins, led by Bill Walton. Playing career Finch was born in Memphis, and played basketball for Melrose High School in the Orange Mound section of Memphis. He then entered Memphis State and played basketball under famed basketball coach Gene Bartow. This decision was somewhat controversial for both Memphis' black and white communities, given the recent assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the resultant heightened strain on race relations in Memphis, not to mention so few local African-American prep stars had been able to wear a Tiger uniform to that point. Some had advised Finch not to go, but whether or not he saw it as an opportunity to do something even more meaningful than playing for his local university, Finch loved his hometown team. In his senior year at Memphis State, 1972–73, he and Larry Kenon led the basketball team to the Final Four. In the championship game, Finch scored 29 points, but lost to John Wooden's UCLA Bruins, a game where Bill Walton went 21 of 22 from the floor. Finch graduated the all-time leading scorer in Memphis history, and is currently the second all-time leading scorer for the University of Memphis. Finch was drafted on the fourth round by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1973, but opted to join the local American Basketball Association team, the Memphis Tams. Finch played professionally for two years with the Tams, the Memphis Sounds and the Baltimore Hustlers and Baltimore Claws. Coaching career In the 1980s, Finch was an assistant coach for Dana Kirk at Memphis State. Kirk was forced to leave Memphis State after violating NCAA regulations and becoming the subject of a criminal investigation, and while asking for and getting immunity from prosecution in the Kirk trial, Finch was made head coach in 1986. He would remain at the school, which was renamed the University of Memphis in 1994, until 1997. Finch posted 10 out of 11 winning seasons, seven 20+ win seasons, and six NCAA tournaments. He recruited and developed such players as Elliot Perry, Penny Hardaway, and Lorenzen Wright. His 1991–92 team led by Hardaway and David Vaughn