KTB Select, with big assist from Josiah Jordan, brings world title back to Reading
Like most of his teammates, Josiah “JayJay” Jordan was confident he and his KTB Select basketball team could compete with any of the top teams gathered last month for the AAU 16U/10th grade Division II World Championship in Orlando, Fla.
“We definitely all knew our abilities,” said Jordan, a rising junior at Berks Catholic. “Playing for so long with all the same people (gave us) confidence. We went in there, got through our first game, and we knew we were all together.”
KTB Select didn’t just compete: It blew away the field, winning its seven games by an average of more than 26 points per game.
It defeated The City Elite from Washington, D.C., 64-44 for the championship.
The nine-player squad was mostly composed of players from Reading High, including Myles Grey and Amier Burdine, key components on the Red Knights’ PIAA Class 6A championship team in March.
Jordan has played with many of his KTB teammates since he was in third and fourth grade; the chemistry developed over the years, and playing together in big tournaments, paid dividends in Orlando.
“We’ve been playing with each other for such a long time, it’s like just another game at this point,” Jordan said. “It’s always great to play with a bunch of guys that I’ve always been with. I think I fit in real well with that group. It’s a great thing for me, and a great thing for all of us.”
The team included six players from Reading High – Grey, Burdine, Aris Rodriguez, Jedeya Ortega, Devin Rosado and Nicholas Sosa – Ofure Odiale of Wilson, Josh Phillips of Twin Valley and Jordan.
The head coach was Shawn Richardson, an assistant on Rick Perez’s staff at Reading High; his uncle, Brian Richardson, was an assistant coach.
The team was so strong it didn’t even need Ruben Rodriguez, an All-State pick as a sophomore at Reading High last season. He’s been playing with Team Final in Philadelphia this summer.
Jordan shared team MVP honors with Grey and Aris Rodriguez.
Jordan was Berks Catholic’s leading scorer last season as a sophomore, averaging 13.9 points per game. He earned all-division honors and figures to be one of the top guards and most improved players in the league next season.
He’s taken his game to another level, on both ends of the court. He was named the Defensive Player of the Year in the Ron Krick Memorial Summer League at West Reading, where he helped lead Berks Packing to the championship. He scored a team-high 20 points in the title game.
The high-caliber competition Jordan has faced since the end of his high school season has helped sharpen his game.
“It’s made me an overall better player,” he said of playing with KTB. “I’m getting stronger.”
KTB (which stands for Kids That Ball) has been an outstanding feeder system for the Reading High program for years. It has produced a string of strong players, such as Lonnie Walker IV, Wesley Butler, Moro Osumanu and Ruben Rodriugez, key components of their two state championship teams.
KTB regularly sends its top teams to top tournaments across the region throughout the spring and summer, preparing them to play top competition.
Two years ago Grey and his KTB teammates became the first team from the program to win a world championship when they captured the AAU eighth-grade title.
Earlier this year they won tournaments at Ocean City, M.D., in New Jersey and at Spooky Nook, in Manheim.
“We’re on a roll,” said Jordan.