Red Knights’ Yadiel Cruz set for a grand finish
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
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Yadiel Cruz is about to put a grand finish on one of the most productive seasons in Berks basketball history.
The Reading High senior needs just 11 points Wednesday in a PIAA Class 6A semifinal against Central York to reach 1,000 points for his career – incredible because he has played just two seasons for the Red Knights.
Cruz moved to Reading, from his native Dominican Republic, in 2022 to be with his father and sister. Former Red Knights head coach Rick Perez heard about him, gave him a tryout one summer morning at the Geigle, and knew immediately he had something good on his hands.
“He went 10-for-10,” Perez recalled of watching Cruz in his first shooting drill. “I put my arm around him and said: ‘I’ll take care of you.’ It was beautiful.”
Cruz was a key component off the bench last season during the Red Knights’ run to a 32-1 record and PIAA championship. He averaged 8.5 points per game but had his moments, like when he scored 18 against Wilson in a Berks semifinal or 17 against Upper Darby in the second round of the state tournament.
He was looked at as the go-to guy at the beginning of this season as the Red Knights regrouped with just one return starter.
The 6-2 Cruz has turned into more than that. He led the Berks Conference in scoring at 22.5 per game during the regular season and was named Player of the Year by the Berks coaches.
His 22.1 scoring averaging heading into Wednesday’s game is among the highest in program history. Only Donyell Marshall (24.8 in 1990-91), Bill Jankans (23.7 in 1964-65) and Stu Jackson (22.6 in 1971-72 and 22.2 in 1972-73) have averaged more points.
When Cruz scored a game-high 25 points in a 62-44 win Saturday against Coatesville he became just the sixth player in Berks basketball history to score 700 points in a single season.
Most points in a single season
| Ron Krick | West Reading | 961 | 1958-59 |
| Ron Krick | West Reading | 948 | 1959-60 |
| Dave Kapaona | Muhlenberg | 820 | 1989-90 |
| Donyell Marshall | Reading High | 794 | 1990-91 |
| Ruben Rodriguez | Reading High | 717 | 2022-23 |
| Yadiel Cruz | Reading High | 708 | 2023-24 |
| Keith Bricker | Conrad Weiser | 703 | 1976-77 |
| Shawn Swavely | Central Catholic | 697 | 1995-96 |
| Seth Brizek | Oley Valley | 685 | 1991-92 |
| Brandon Smith | Gov. Mifflin | 683 | 2001-02 |
The legendary Ron Krick, of course, set records that likely will never be topped, scoring 961 points as a sophomore in 1958-59 and 948 points the following season. (He broke Wilt Chamberlain’s Pennsylvania career scoring record.)
Muhlenberg’s Dave Kapaona, in 1989-90, is the only other Berks player to top 800 points.
Marshall, Reading’s Ruben Rodriguez, and Conrad Weiser’s Keith Bricker are the only others to top 700.
To score that many points in a season takes skill, consistency, and the ability to stay on the court. It also helps to play a lot of games.
Bricker didn’t have that luxury. When he scored 703 points as a junior in 1976-77 the Scouts played just 24 games. They were eliminated in the opening round of the District 3 Tournament. Bricker had to produce at a high level to make the 700 Club and he did, averaging 29.3 points per game – that’s the highest of any Berks player in the past 50 years, and probably the highest since Krick dominated more than six decades ago.
Krick averaged a staggering 34.3 points game when he set the Berks record in 1958-59. The West Reading shooting star played 28 games, leading the Cowboys to the first of three straight state Class C championships (then the smallest classification).
(Johnathan Paroby photo)
He set a Berks record by averaging 35.1 as junior but the Cowboys played one less game; he finished with 948 points.
Krick averaged 32.8 points as a senior but a shoulder injury limited him to 20 games. He finished with 3,174 points, then a state record, and averaged 32.4 points over his 98 games.
Kapaona averaged 24.8 points in 1989-90 when he scored 820 points. The Muhls played 33 games, reaching the Berks Conference semifinals, the District 3 championship game, and the PIAA quarterfinals.
Marshall set the Reading High record with 794 points as a senior in 1990-91; the Red Knights went 31-2 and played in the Berks and District 3 championship games and the PIAA quarterfinals.
Rodriguez scored 717 points during another extended Reading High run last season, one that included 33 games and was capped by a state championship.
For Cruz to reach 1,000 points in two seasons is remarkable – and completely unexpected. No one could’ve expected the Red Knights to be playing this late in the season, not when they fell to 7-6 after an 18-point loss to Coatesville on Jan. 12.
They’ve gone 15-4 since then, in large part because of Cruz’s scoring consistency. He has scored 20 or more points 21 times in 32 games. He’s scored 30 or more three times and hit 40 against Harrisburg – just the fifth time in the last 100 years a Reading player has reached 40.
Cruz’s ability to score at all three levels makes him tough to stop. He’s great in transition, has hit a team-high 48 3-pointers and shoots 74.1 percent at the foul line.
He’s relentless around the glass, gets great position under the basket and has a knack for getting the ball up against taller players. He also has a knack for drawing contact: That’s why he’s gone to the foul line 143 times.
He’s been especially good at that in recent games, going 9-for-11 from the line in a 54-47 win over Erie McDowell and 11-of-15 Saturday against Coatesville.
Even as the Red Knights face better teams the deeper they get into the tournament Cruz hasn’t slowed down. He’s averaged 21.0 points in three state playoff games, 21.0 in four district games and 21.7 in three Berks playoff games.
Cruz has always been at the top of his class when it comes to basketball. In junior high he was offered a scholarship to play at a local private school in the Dominican; that fell through when COVID-19 hit the island and the season was scrapped.
He was such an elite player he earned the nickname “La Sensacion” in his homeland. No translation needed there.
Cruz was a guard and perimeter shooter on at Eugenio De Jesus high school; those roles were adequately filled when he arrived in Reading, what with Ruben Rodriguez and Myles Grey handling those jobs.
He eventually found his niche as a rebounder and inside scorer, something the Red Knights lacked last season.
“He’s undersized, but he does an outstanding job rebounding, and he’s a great finisher,” Perez said last season. “He’s embracing that physicality, throwing his body around.”
