Slippery Rock senior Elam Pyle signs a letter of intent to continue his academic and basketball career at Geneva College. Looking on are his mother, Colby Mainhart, his sister Lahna and his father, Matt Pyle. John Enrietto/Butler Eagle

SLIPPERY ROCK — Work hard and be coachable.

That’s what Jeff Santarsiero looks for in a basketball recruit — and that’s what the longtime Geneva College men’s coach is getting in Slippery Rock High School senior Elam Pyle.

“That’s the type of player Coach Santarsiero told me he wants and Elam fits those character traits,” Rockets coach A.J. Motta said. “I wish I could copy that kid’s work ethic for every kid I’ve ever coached.

“He never stops trying to improve his game.”

Pyle recently signed a letter of intent to extend his academic and basketball career at Geneva. He also considered Penn State DuBois and Penn State Fayette before deciding to join the Golden Tornadoes and the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. He plans to major in sports management.

“I like the stability of the program and it’s a good Christian school. It has the same values I have,” Pyle said.

A shooting guard for Slippery Rock, Pyle sank 44 treys last season. He’s connected for 20 this season while spending some time playing point guard.

“Our point guard got injured earlier this season and I was asked to slide over,” Pyle said. “It’s a bit of an adjustment, handling the ball so much, but it helped the team. I’ll do whatever I can that way.”

Motta said Pyle puts in a lot of time working on basketball.

“He works incredibly hard, during the season and off-season,” the coach said. “He’s one of those guys who is a pleasure to coach. We needed a point guard and he stepped out of his comfort zone to fill that void for us. He’s always been that type of player.”

Geneva is 15-7 so far this season, 12-5 in PAC play. The Golden Tornadoes finished second in the PAC regular season in 2021 and reached the conference championship game in 2020.

Geneva has not had a losing season since 2019. Santarsiero, in his 27th season, is 362-387 overall and is the winningest coach in the program’s history.

Besides basketball, Pyle played golf and ran track at Slippery Rock through his freshman year.

“I wanted to concentrate on one sport and basketball was it for me,” Pyle said. “I’m anxious to show what I can do at the next level. All I want to do is prove myself and contribute to the team’s success.”

Motta doesn’t see that being an issue.

“He worked himself into our starting lineup and I know he’ll prepare himself for the next level,” the coach said. “If the opportunity is there, Elam will take advantage of it.”