Finley a fixture in the paint

On the basketball court, however, this sophomore center is a different man. His shyness transforms into aggression as he muscles his way to the basket again and again. This quiet kid is not only the men’s basketball team’s leading scorer and rebounder, but he is tied for the most personal fouls committed by a Princeton player this season. Clearly, “reserved” is not the right word to describe Finley as a player.

Finley hails from Rapid City, S.D., a small city of about 70,000 people.

“It’s just got that small-town feel that a lot of people out here only see on TV,” Finley said. “Coming from that, it’s a little bit of culture shock to come out here and see how other people live. I like where I’m from.”

He attended St. Thomas More, a small private high school, and helped turn around its basketball program. When he joined the team as a freshman, his school had never been to the state tournament. As a senior, he led his team to a 26-0 finish and a Class A state championship. He was a first-team all-state selection his junior and senior years and was named South Dakota’s Mr. Basketball for the 2005-06 season.

When he and the Tigers faced Duke in the EA Sports Maui Invitational last November, ESPN2 commentator Sean McDonough mentioned this accolade, following it up with a smart remark that Finley “beat out the other seven boys who play basketball in South Dakota.”

Finley shrugged off this comment with a laugh.

“A lot of the grief people give me about the competition in South Dakota is somewhat warranted,” Finley said. “But we have players there. Not like a lot of states like California or all those big states, but we have decent competition.”

Regardless of the caliber of talent in South Dakota, Finley has risen to meet a higher level of competition as a Division I athlete. As a freshman, he found floor time in every matchup and averaged three points per game. This season, Finley has made his presence known as the Tigers’ starting center.

Finley certainly has been productive for Princeton this season. He kicked off the season with a career-high 22-points for the Tigers in their win against Central Connecticut. Since then, he has started every game, putting up an average of 10.6 points and five rebounds per game. He also maintains the second-highest field-goal percentage in the Ivy League at .512. Finley set a Maui Invitational record when he blocked seven shots against Chaminade and currently ranks fourth in the league with 24 blocks on the season.

“The whole experience playing in Maui was probably the most memorable, the one that will stick with me the longest,” Finley said. “We didn’t win any of the games, but it was an unbelievable experience playing that caliber of basketball.”

As a kid growing up in Rapid City, Finley learned a little bit about high-caliber basketball from following fellow South Dakotan and current Memphis Grizzly Mike Miller. These days, he looks to the Princeton legacy for inspiration.

“[Miller] used to be the biggest guy for me,” Finley said. “He’s from South Dakota and went and played at Florida and played in the national championship game and then went out to the NBA, … [but] I feel like the players I look up to now are the former Princeton greats.”

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Finley has the rest of this season and two more years to make his mark as a Tiger. Perhaps he’ll be one of those “Princeton greats” whom future players look up to.