EXCLUSIVE: Anthony Finkley reveals why he transferred from Saint Joseph's to La Salle

Philadelphia native excited to join Explorers after trying season on Hawk Hill

Anthony Finkley is excited to be joining the La Salle Explorers (Photo: IG)

By AARON BRACY

May 6, 2026

Bracy Sports Media Newsletter

When Anthony Finkley came to Saint Joseph’s in the fall of 2023, it was like joining an extended family on Hawk Hill. Just three short years later, that familiar feeling had vanished.

Finkley came to Saint Joseph’s along with high school teammate and good friend Xzayvier Brown after both helped Roman Catholic to the Philadelphia Catholic League title the previous season. On the Hawks bench was Brown’s stepfather, assistant coach Justin Scott, whom Finkley considers an uncle. Leading the Hawks was head coach Billy Lange, with whom Finkley has had a long, strong relationship.

Brown and Scott departed St. Joe’s for Oklahoma after the 2025 season. Lange surprisingly resigned just two months before last season for a job with the New York Knicks. Suddenly, Hawk Hill did not feel the same way for Finkley as it did when he arrived. And the results showed on the court.

After a solid sophomore season in which he finished fifth in the Atlantic 10 in three-point shooting, Finkley struggled mightily as a junior last season. That was especially the case in the first half of the season before Deuce Jones departed the team.

Finkley decided to enter the transfer portal following the season and has found a home at La Salle, which eagerly recruited the 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward. So, why was he so eager to leave Saint Joseph’s?

“Honestly, I didn’t know it was real, but I feel like I went through mental health problems last year,” Finkley told me in a phone interview. “Everybody I came into it [with] is just not here anymore, like everything don’t feel right.”

The Explorers wasted no time recruiting Finkley. He said the coaches contacted him shortly after he entered his name into the transfer portal.

“The whole coaching staff did a great job of recruiting me,” he said. “They texted me every day, like three times a day. It felt like the hottest thing in the street how they was coming.”

Finkley consulted family and friends and looked into the situation at La Salle. He liked the toughness with which the Explorers played and was impressed with coach Darris Nichols.

“Just how they played,” he said of what he liked. “From where I’m from, North Philly, I’m used to people who play like that: fast, get up under you, gritty. I feel like I’ll fit right into that.”

Most importantly, the move to La Salle is a physical and mental reset for Finkley.

“Just getting a fresh start, still being home, family can see me every day,” he said. “And just like a clean slate was something I feel like I needed, and La Salle is a good fit for me in doing that.”

The Explorers are excited to have him, and the coaches believe they can help get Finkley back to the player he was as a sophomore in 2024–25 when he averaged 7.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game while shooting 39.6 percent from three-point range (44 of 111). In 2025–26, those numbers slipped to 5.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 19.0 minutes while dipping to 28.8 percent from three-point range (32 of 111).

“I don’t think he forgot how to play basketball,” Nichols told me. “He was eighth in offensive rating overall two years ago. I think about it like this: Everybody is not for everybody. There are some players who may not vibe well with me; that’s fine. But that’s what the transfer portal does. He signed up to play for Billy Lange. He could’ve left [last season], but who leaves in the fall.

“For him, I think it was a combination of a lot of things making him uncomfortable. Now, it’s his decision. When it’s the player’s decision, sometimes you get a different level of player. He’s a good player. He fits how we want to play. He can play the four. You can move him around. He can really shoot it. My goal with him is to get him to the free throw line a little bit more. … I think Anthony Finkley is the four we need to get.”

Finkley will spend part of this summer working on his shooting stroke while getting into optimal condition.

“My body is probably the most important thing to me,” he said. “I’m definitely going to try to get in tip-top shape.”

He also will hone his midrange game, something that was not much a part of St. Joe’s offense during Finkley’s three seasons but will be at La Salle, Finkley said. The biggest thing is that the excitement is back in Finkley’s voice after a trying season, on and off the court.

He cannot wait to get started with the Explorers.

“I think it’s the right fit for me,” Finkley said. “My mom is happy. I’m excited.”

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Aaron Bracy has covered sports in Philadelphia for nearly three decades for various publications and as a freelancer for the Associated Press. His first book, A Soaring Season: The Incredible, Inspiring Story of the 2003–04 Saint Joseph’s Hawks (Brookline), can be ordered HERE. His second book, Are You Kidding Me? The Incredible, Inspiring Story of Allen Iverson and the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers (Brookline) is scheduled to be published in February 2027. You can preorder it HERE. Follow Bracy on social media HERE. Contact him at bracymedia@gmail.com.