Aris Rodriguez ready to take a lead role in Red Knights’ basketball production
You don’t need a thorough scouting a report to know that when you face Reading High you better put your best guy on Ruben Rodriguez. He’s a two-time All-State pick and the Berks scoring leader and Player of the Year as a junior.
You better have another lock-down defender to take Myles Grey. The senior guard can fill it up. He knocked down 57 3-pointers a season ago, including a program-record 10 in one game.
No one’s defensive game plan will focus on Aris Rodriugez; the 6-5 senior says ever-so-politely that may be a mistake.
“I suggest (they) put their best defender on me, as well,” he said on the eve of the Red Knights’ 122nd season. “It’s gonna be a movie.”
In last year’s Red Knights film Aris Rodriguez was no more than a coming attraction. Now, his coaches and teammates will tell you, he’s ready to be a featured attraction.
“You’re gonna have to worry about him,” promises Ruben Rodriguez (no relation). “If not, he’s gonna come out and get his 25, 30. He’s capable of doing that.”
Legendary Pete Carril to be honored Tuesday
Ruben Rodriguez, Grey and classmate Amier Burdine have seen this coming; they’ve been playing together since they were in grade school. They saw Aris’ potential. In recent months they’ve seen him begin to fulfill it. He’s grown a few inches, has gotten stronger and with it grown more confident.
“He’s made a lot of crazy improvements,” Grey said. “He’s definitely going to be a match-up nightmare.”
“Aris went completely off in the fall,” Ruben Rodriguez said. “He really needed (that), to show him what he’s capable of.”
Indeed, it seems those around him believed more in Aris Rodriguez’s breakout potential than he did. He was good enough as a sophomore to be part of Reading’s 2021 PIAA championship roster. While Ruben, Myles and Amier were making an impact during that thrilling playoff run Aris was merely a supporting player. Now he’s ready to share top billing.
“This year I can really show my skills, show my talent to everybody in the whole city,” he said confidently.
We’ll get our first glimpse Tuesday when the Red Knights open against Central York at the Geigle. That’ll be a good gauge of where this team is headed and what it’s capable of accomplishing.
With three return starters from a team that went 26-4 there’s no reason to think they can’t win a second straight Berks Conference title, a third straight District 3 Class 6A championship and make another run at a state title.
They didn’t miss the latter by much last season. They were bumped in the quarterfinals 64-58 by Archbishop Wood, which went on to reach the championship game. And they did that without 1,000-point scorer and All-State pick Daniel Alcantara, who broke his back in the opening game of the district tournament.
With Alcantara on the court there’s every reason to believe Reading would’ve been playing for its third state championship in six years.
When you play defense the way the Red Knights do under Rick Perez you’re going to compete for a lot of championships. This team will.
Ruben Rodriguez is again the centerpiece. He has put together one of the most impressive resumes in Berks basketball history. He’s on the verge of becoming the first Berks starting player to win four straight district titles and should be a rare three-time All-State pick.
He averaged a league-leading 19.8 points as a junior. By late Tuesday he’ll have over 1,300 points and be on his way to 1,800-plus. He could end up as the Red Knights’ No. 2 all-time scorer, behind Lonnie Walker IV.
Grey, who made a convincing case for a spot on last year’s All-Berks team, is good enough to be the lead guard on any team. He’s a true defensive stopper, a team player, a 3-point threat and a leader. With Ruben Rodriguez and Burdine missing a lot of fall action because they were playing football he was the unquestioned leader.
Burdine isn’t the shooter that Grey is but he’s got all the other qualities: He’s a team player to the core and an invaluable defensive ace.
There are questions in the post, but that didn’t stop the Red Knights from winning their first state title. Malik Osumanu, a 6-6 junior and brother of Moro, the center on Reading’s most recent PIAA champion, takes over in the middle. He’s not accomplished offensively but can defend and rebound.
The guy the Red Knights are talking about is 6-3 junior Yadiel Cruz, who moved to Reading from his native Dominican Republic.
“The first tournament he played with us, at Cedar Beach (in June), he came in and was killing it,” Ruben Rodriguez said. “He fit into the way we play. He’ll score 20 without taking five dribbles.”
There’s plenty of depth in the backcourt with juniors Nick Chapman and Nick Sosa. And Perez isn’t shy about mentioning 6-2 freshman guard Weshly Rosario. He could find his way into the rotation.
“He has an amazing feel for the ball,” Perez said.
The difference-maker could be Aris Rodriguez. He showed flashes as a junior when he played in 26 games and shot over 82 percent from the foul line. He had a breakout game against Wyomissing in the Berks playoffs, scoring 21; earlier he had 16 in a win over Exeter.
His all-around game has expanded since. He credits his teammates for his growth.
“They pushed me to the limit where I had to be a dog,” he said.
He also credits his brother Rene, a starting guard and defensive specialist on the 2021 PIAA championship team. Rene didn’t score much but he did what it took to win.
“He taught me (the importance of) a lot of the stuff that people don’t see,” Aris said. “Charges, going for loose balls, making sure you do the dirty (work). . . Helping (on defense). Stepping to the ball. . . the little stuff that isn’t on the stat sheet.”
If Aris can do all of that and score he really will be a ‘dog.’
“I’m gonna just stick to the little things, and the points are gonna come,” he said.
