Finkel attended Holy Family High School in Union City, New Jersey. He enrolled at nearby Saint Peter\'s University in Jersey City, New Jersey, but dropped out and worked as a sandblaster in a shipyard after his father died of cancer. He was spotted at a Dairy Queen out with some friends by Harry Brooks, who had seen Finkel play in high school. Brooks was a "bird dog" (an independent scout) for the University of Dayton, which had just won the 1962 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in Madison Square Garden. Soon, Finkel enrolled at Dayton.\n', '

A 6\'11" center (at times listed as 7\'0"), Finkel attended Dayton to play for Tom Blackburn, Dayton\'s coach since 1947. Finkel redshirted his first year, and eligibility-wise was a sophomore the following year. As a sophomore in 1963–64, Finkel averaged 23.0 points and 13 rebounds per game as the Flyers had a record of 15–10. However, Blackburn, who had been battling cancer, died eight days after the Flyers\' final game of the season. Assistant coach Don Donoher was then named head coach.\n', '

As a junior, Finkel averaged 25.3 points and 14.9 rebounds for the 22-7 Flyers.\n', '

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