New Vipers coach Finch getting adjusted

McALLEN — Life on the “fajita circuit” been both filling and fulfilling for newly-named Rio Grande Valley Vipers coach Chris Finch.

Since he was introduced to the Valley’s basketball faithful in grand style — at halftime of the Oct. 7 exhibition between the Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics at Dodge Arena — Finch has been making one appearance after another on the Valley’s version of the rubber chicken circuit. In the midst of all that, he and wife, Lori, have been house-hunting.

Simply put, Finch’s life has been organized chaos since late July when he began exploring the process of becoming Clay Moser’s successor.

“Everything has happened so fast,” Finch said last week. “We’re still trying to get our feet under us. Logistically, we are trying to pull our life together. We’ve got stuff in Europe, stuff in Florida, stuff in Chicago. We’re just trying to get it all timed up to come down here.”

Finch left for Belgium on Saturday to tie up some loose ends. Finch coached Dexia Mons-Hainaut in the first division of the Belgium league for two seasons before accepting an offer in late September to coach the Vipers. He and his wife had just moved into a new house two days before the Vipers offered him the job. This week, they are packing up their things to ship to the Valley, among other things.

“We were half moved in and half packed,” Finch said. “We started moving in and then I got the job offer and stopped that process. We’re pretty unsettled, but it’s coming to an end, and we’re happy about that.”

The Finches have been living in hotels since Aug. 4. Finch also coaches Great Britain’s national team, and he was coaching it in the European Championships when he received an e-mail from Rockets vice president of basketball operation Sam Hinkie about the Vipers’ opening. The Rockets purchased the basketball operating rights to the Vipers during the summer.

With one open day in his busy schedule in September, Finch flew from Ankara, Turkey via Brussels, Belgium to New York for a face-to-face interview with Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and Vipers president Brian Michael Cooper. He arrived at 1 p.m. and caught a plane to London at 6 p.m.

Finch accepted the Vipers position without stepping on Valley soil. But, the Vipers’ affiliation with the Rockets was a huge draw for him. He said after researching the Vipers’ organization, the Rockets’ organization and the D-League, he knew it was an ideal job for him. Still, leaving Dexia Mons-Hainaut was difficult after leading it to the finals of the Belgian league last season.

“I was happy where I was,” Finch said. “It was a very good club, and I was treated extremely well. … But I knew when (the Vipers’ job) was offered that taking it was the right thing to do.”

Finch is expected to return to Houston this weekend for three days. He and the Rockets’ brass will begin the process of mapping out strategy for the D-League’s Nov. 5 draft.

Finch hopes accepting the Vipers position is the first step into an NBA coaching position.

“That’s why I cam here, but I’ve maintained that as long as I’m happy coaching wherever I’m coaching, I’ll be fine whether that’s overseas, the NBA or the D-League,” said Finch, who was an assistant for the Dallas Mavericks summer league team in Las Vegas. “I’m not one of those guys who is trying to chase the next job.”

David Hinojosa covers the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You may also reach him at (956) 683-4442.