By Steve Svetovich

Dunmore High School graduate John Rinaldi has made the most of his academic-athletic career at Binghamton University where he will graduate this May with a bachelor of science degree in marketing/finance.

And to cap it all off he recently received word that he is the first Binghamton University basketball player chosen for the NCAA National Honor Society and be named to the American East All Academic team.

“It was an honor to hear about all this,” he said, “because my parents always made me work hard at school. They were always on top of me about my grades. It shows that hard work really does pay off.”

Son of Mark and Annie Rinaldi, Dunmore, John is a 2013 Dunmore High School graduate. He played four years of football and basketball at Dunmore. He earned All League status in both sports as a junior and senior. He was a 1,000 points plus career scorer in basketball and was a key member of two district title football teams.

He also played one year of baseball and was a member of the track team for two years. He set records for the high jump and long jump and also participated in the triple jump. He earned a district title for the high jump twice. He was All League twice and All Regional once for track and field.

The scholar-athlete has an impressive 3.6 grade point average at Binghamton University where he is a member of the student advisory committee and four-year member of the basketball team.

Tony Lacertosa was his basketball coach at Dunmore High School. “I played several positions for him,” Rinaldi said. “We learned how to win from him. We had a successful team.”

Like hundreds of other student-athletes, Rinaldi learned many life lessons from Dunmore veteran football coach Jack Henzes. “He is a legend there. Everything you hear about him is true. You have to experience it. We won two district championships under him. He teaches you life lessons and how to be a better person. I experienced it first hand from him.”

Rinaldi said his parents are always strong influences in his life. “They always tell me to work hard in school and in sports. They tell me to play hard and get good grades. They are sticklers for good grades.”

The senior stalwart talked about what it takes to be successful in college basketball. “It’s all about playing hard all the time and taking nothing for granted.”

The dean’s list student said he has enjoyed his four years at Binghamton University. “I like the school environment here and I’m very happy with my college choice. It’s been an amazing four years and it flew by really fast. The basketball experience here has been great.

“It’s going to be a little weird when this is all over. I am going to miss college. I am hoping to get a good job and possibly go to graduate school in the future. It’s been great here.”