By Jeff Vorva
Staff writer
On July 1, General McArthur III will take over as the new athletic director at Moraine Valley Community College.
It will be the first time since 1983 that someone other than Bill Finn will have that job.
Finn announced his retirement months ago and his last official day is June 30.
Earlier this month, the school honored him with a party.
“It was a really nice surprise,” he said. “It surprised the heck out of me. It was in the gym. They decked it out in our colors and there were posters of me.
“There were people from 40 years ago there — players and coaches and former colleagues. I think there were 200 people there and it was great.”
Finn’s four decades as athletic director included 22 years and 500-plus wins as the Cyclones’ men’s basketball coach.
His tenure also featured the building of the Health, Fitness and Recreation Center, which opened in March 2014. The center houses the men’s and women’s basketball team and women’s volleyball team.
Less than a year after it opened, the center hosted a high school basketball game between St. Rita and Simeon that was broadcast on ESPN2. More than 2,000 people showed up for that one, including University of Kentucky coach John Calipari.
Finn is proud of what he calls the “crown jewel” of former Cyclone athletes who have gone on to huge things.
Richaun Holmes has played in the NBA since 2015. The 6-foot-11 center was traded from the Sacramento Kings to the Dallas Mavericks on June 22.
Bobby Madritsch, a Reavis alum, pitched for the Seattle Mariners in 2004 and 2005.
Saul White Jr., an Argo graduate, is a member of the Harlem Globetrotters.
“They were outstanding, but I’m proud of everyone else along the way,” Finn said.
Among them was Tom O’Malley, who played point guard for the Cyclones and went on to a career as an NCAA basketball referee. Today, O’Malley is the superintendent in Evergreen Park Community High School District 231.
Another is Ephraim Eaddy, a former basketball player who played at Northern Illinois and is the first deputy chief administrator for Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
“We’ve produced some unbelievable citizen doing great things,” Finn said.
Through several youth tournaments at the school, athletes such as former NBA player and Basketball Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade and current NBA player Max Strus learned their craft on the Palos Hills campus.
Finn attended Richards and was a dangerous outside shooter before the advent of the 3-point line. After a short stay at Iowa State, he found a home at Loras, which was an NAIA school at the time.
Finn said he loved his role at Moraine, but his time away from the campus was not plentiful.
“I’m really looking forward to the time off,” he said of retirement. “I didn’t have summers off like high school people. I went in every day. It didn’t matter what day or temperature or whatever, I had to go and get in and make things happen.
McArthur has been the student success specialist at the school since 2015 and has been an assistant baseball coach for the Cyclones.
“I helped him learn my part of the job the last year or two,” Finn said. “I know he’ll do a great job.”