By Tom Robinson, NEPABasketball.com
Dallas senior guard Austin Finarelli committed during the weekend to continue his academic and athletic careers at Elizabethtown College where he will play basketball.
Finarelli, who was spotted by E-town coaches while playing for the NEPA Elite Coyle 17U AAU team, made the decision a week before the opener of the Dallas season. He finalized the choice Saturday and informed Elizabethtown coach Britt Moore of his decision Sunday.
After breaking into the Dallas starting lineup as a freshman, Finarelli received all-star recognition from NEPABasketball.com each of the past two seasons. The return of Finarelli and Nick Nocito, another all-star guard and NEPA Elite Coyle team player who is committed to Ursinus College, for their fourth seasons as starters is a big reason the Mountaineers are regarded as the favorite in Division 1 of the Wyoming Valley Conference.
Finarelli was a second-team all-star last season when Dallas played in Division 2. He was an honorable mention on the WVC Division 1 all-star team as a sophomore.
“I really liked the campus,” Finarelli said of Elizabethtown. “When I went there, it felt like a really good fit for me. It was a beautiful campus.
“ … I liked the way the players bonded.”
Finarelli, who visited with the team after a practice and attended an Elizabethtown game, was also impressed by the way the team’s offense was structured.
“When I went down, there was a lot of ball movement and screen play,” he said. “I liked the way they played that way, so I thought I could fit in well and see myself playing that way.”
Finarelli said the decision was tough because he also liked FDU-Florham and Wilkes after visiting those schools.
After sitting out last season because of COVID-19, the Blue Jays are 4-4 with a loss to Susquehanna University in their Landmark Conference opener. They were 12-12 in the 2019-20 season.
