Even after he drops 30, Red Knights say there’s more to come from Aris Rodriguez — much more
Aris Rodriguez knocked down four 3-pointers in the first quarter Tuesday night against Central York. The Reading High senior sank his first five shots from beyond the arc and had 22 points by halftime — a career high.
The 6-5 forward finished with 30 points in the 87-68 season-opening win at the Geigle.
His teammates will tell you there’s more to come. Much more. They’ve seen it, just not on this stage.
“He can get to another level,” said classmate Amier Burdine, who’s been playing with Rodriguez since they were in grade school, “and you’re gonna see it this year. He’s coming; I’m tellin’ ya, he’s coming.”
From the looks of things Tuesday he’s already arrived.
A day after teammate Ruben Rodriguez (no relation) said Aris could drop 25 or 30 points at any time he did just that. His game-opening 3-pointer gave Reading the lead for good and he kept firing — and making. He had a dozen points, all on 3’s, in the first four minutes, helping the Red Knights build a 14-7 lead.
“Once I build a rhythm, you know, it’s gonna get bad (for the other team),” Aris Rodriguez said. “I built my rhythm and just keep pushing, playing defense, doing the little things. I do the little things and the points will come.”
Oh, the points came, and not just for Aris Rodriguez. Ruben Rodriguez rebounded from a slow start and some early fouls to finish with a game-high 31 points, hitting 12-of-20 shots from the field and all five of his free throws.
Who knows the last time Reading had a pair of 30-point scorers in the same game, if ever. That’s a rarity at this level, for even the highest-scoring teams.
Aris and Ruben combined to sink two-thirds of their shots from the field and 8-of-11 from 3-point range. Overall, the Red Knights shot 54 percent and made 14-of-17 free throws. They had 48 points at halftime.
Jeff Hoke, the Central York coach, was duly impressed.
“They played well, they shot well,” he said. “They’re a tough team. They played one of the better games that I think they can play.”
Someone might say that about Aris Rodriguez, who was a role player a year ago and only cracked double figures a few times. Red Knights coach Rick Perez wasn’t about to say anything of the kind. He’s not about to put a lid on this bubbling cauldron.
“It’s just awesome to see him have that opportunity to come out here and play like that,” Perez said. “Aris has an abundance of potential; he’s always had an abundance of potential. Things are really lining up for (him).”
Perez and the seniors who have played with him for years have been waiting for this kind of breakout performance. Perez thought a year ago at this time it might surface, but it never did. A couple extra inches, a couple extra pounds and a strong summer and fall on the court have boosted Aris Rodriguez’s confidence sky-high.
It shows in the way he speaks and it showed on the court Tuesday when he didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger when open.
“That’s just extra work,” he said of his improved shooting. “I’m here (working on my game all the time).”
Perez basically started with three guards on the floor; Aris Rodriguez was the only one taller than 6-2 in a lineup that included Burdine, Ruben Rodriguez, Myles Grey and Yadiel Cruz, a junior guard who moved to Reading from the Dominican Republic earlier this year.
They Red Knights got out-rebounded by a much longer team but they more than made up for that with their quickness on defense, where they helped force a lot of the Panthers’ 23 turnovers. They were also able to disrupt the Panthers’ outside game; Central made just 1-of-6 3-pointers in the first half and 3-of-10 overall. They got few uncontested shots; most of their points came off the boards.
It was no surprise to see Ruben Rodriguez go off as he did. He’s a two-time All-State pick and led the Berks Conference in scoring a year ago at 19.8 points per game.
He began heating up in the second quarter and hit 7-of-8 shots during one stretch. He got to the basket at will, scored in transition and, late in the game, found the range from beyond the arc, hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Nothing we haven’t seen before.
The other Rodriguez? Well, this was new.
“I didn’t know he was that great a shooter,” Hoke said. “He had a helluva night.”
The first, Perez believes, of many.
“This is just the beginning,” he said. “We’re excited for where he can go.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Central York | 14 | 20 | 14 | 20 | 68 |
| Reading High | 20 | 28 | 17 | 22 | 87 |
| Central York (0-1) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Natel | 3-8 | 1-2 | 0-3 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| Dodson | 4-12 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 9 | 9 |
| Guidinger | 5-14 | 5-6 | 1-3 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
| Rill | 9-14 | 7-11 | 0-1 | 0 | 5 | 24 |
| Parker | 0-3 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Marsh | 0-1 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Succhanic | 2-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Brown | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nace | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Woodward | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Amaker | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Totals | 24-60 | 17-24 | 3-10 | 7 | 33-38 | 68 |
| Reading (1-0) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Burdine | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Cruz | 1-5 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 9 | 7 | 3 |
| R. Rodriguez | 12-20 | 5-5 | 2-3 | 5 | 3 | 31 |
| Grey | 3-9 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| Rodriguez | 10-15 | 4-5 | 6-8 | 2 | 2 | 30 |
| Osumanu | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Chapman | 2-3 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Sosa | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rosario | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Totals | 32-59 | 14-17 | 9-17 | 13 | 20-25 | 87 |
Turnovers: Central York 23, Reading High 13.
