Ruben Rodriguez invited back to Puerto Rico after strong tryout

Ruben Rodriguez wasn’t sure what to expect when he got on the court with the top high school players in Puerto Rico last weekend. He figured out pretty quickly that they weren’t quite sure what to make of his game, either.

The Reading High star brought his aggressive style with him to San Juan for a tryout for Puerto Rico’s under-18 international team, and coaches there were impressed.

They have invited the Berks Player of the Year back later this month for another look.

“I had to bring my ‘A’ game, obviously,” said Rodriguez, a junior who won the Berks scoring title last season, averaging 19.8 points. “I feel I did really well separating myself, bringing a different type of intensity.”

Rodriguez is eligible to play for Puerto Rico because of his family background. His father, Ruben Sr., a coach for the Red Knights, was born in the U.S. territory.

Ruben Jr. isn’t sure if he has officially made what is expected to be a 12-man squad; he’s awaiting word.

If he makes the team he’ll play in the FIBA U18 Americas Championships June 6-12; the competition will be held in either Brazil or Mexico.

Rodriguez, who grew up in Reading’s KTB feeder system, has played up and down the East Coast but the only place he’s been outside the continental United States is Puerto Rico.

A trip to Central or South America would be a new experience for him; so would competing on the international level.

“It would definitely be a crazy blessing to be able to play in that big of a stage and represent Puerto Rico,” he said. “It would be crazy to be able to play and represent my culture.”

Rodriguez’s open-floor game is well known throughout Berks and across the state.

He gets up and down the floor effortlessly and uses his quickness and defensive prowess to create turnovers.

A good portion of the program-record 50 points he scored last season against Daniel Boone came off his steals and aggressive play.

He said the style of play he witnessed in Puerto Rico was much more deliberate, and half-court oriented.

“They like to shoot, move the ball and get wide-open shots,” he said. “I knew going into it, it was going to be a whole different way of playing.”

He didn’t change his style, though, and he apparently turned some heads.

“I think he was the best player on the court, just because of the high pace,” said Ruben Sr. “He’s fast, he’s big. The difference in size was night and day. Ruben takes care of his body; he lifts. He was just different compared to how they looked. And the speed of the game, he plays it at a fast pace, they really don’t.”

“I was bringing my Reading intensity there,” Ruben Jr. said, “trying to make them see something they’re not used to seeing.”

There were about 20 players at the tryout; Rodriguez was one of just a few from the United States.

Rodriguez was a first-team All-State pick as sophomore after leading Reading High to PIAA Class 6A title. The 2022 All-State team for Class 6A will be announced later this week.

He took his game up a notch this season, on both the offensive and defensive ends. He shot 74.3 percent from the foul line and made 35 3-pointers. He topped 1,000 points at midseason, finished with 1,291 and could end up in the 1,800-point range with another productive season.

He led the Red Knights to the District 3 championship, his third district title in three seasons; as a freshman he was the starting point guard on Muhlenberg’s Class 5A championship team.

The opportunity to play on the international level was totally unexpected, but Rodriguez is relishing it.

“I was not expecting this to be in my summer,” he said. “The whole time I was there, I just sat back and thought, ‘Yo, this is crazy.’ It was special.”