Red Knight seniors enjoying their final championship run together
(This story has been updated with Spring-Ford team statistics.)
The games are down to a precious few now for Ruben Rodriguez. One Tuesday, against Spring-Ford in a PIAA Class 6A semifinal. One more after that if his Reading High team wins. Then this part of his basketball journey will be over.
“It’s sad for me personally,” the two-time Berks Player of the Year said of seeing his minutes in a Red Knights uniform dwindling, “but also it’s a blessing. This is what we’ve dreamt of.”
Reading High (30-1) is on the cusp of another trip to the state championship game, a dream that always seemed to slip away in past decades but has become regularly realized under Rick Perez in recent years.
If they beat the District 1 runner-up Rams (28-3) they’ll return to Giant Center to play for a state championship for the third time in seven years and the second time in Rodriguez’s three spectacular seasons with the Red Knights.
He and backcourt mate Myles Grey were sophomore starters on the team that upset nationally ranked Archbishop Wood for the 2021 championship. Senior classmate Amier Burdine was a key reserve on that squad; Aris Rodriguez, now sharing the starting lineup with the other three, was there, too.
They’ve been there, done that. It’s as experienced, successful a group as the Red Knights have ever had. They’ve gone 82-7 over the past three seasons, with three straight District 3 championships and a 7-1 record in PIAA Tournament play.
Only the great Stevie Mitchell and the coronavirus – lethal opponents, each – got in the way or their achievements would be even more incredible.
They’ve torn through the state tournament like never before, winning by 31, 25 and 24 points in the first three rounds. The bright lights of the biggest tournament in the state has done nothing but illuminate their dominance.
“We have a lot of experience,” Rodriguez said. “That comes to show. We understand we’re in the moment. This is what we’ve been waiting for. We understand where we’re at. We know that we have to come out and give everything we have because (each game) could be our last.”
They played with that sense of urgency Saturday, running District 7 runner-up New Castle right off the floor. They led by 10 points after five minutes, by 15 a couple minutes into the second quarter and by 25 midway through the third.
They turned the ball over twice in the first half. They converted 28-of-40 shots inside the arc (that’s a 70 percent clip). They ran the floor with ease and rattled a team that’s been nearly as dominant as Reading has over the past decade.
“We did a really good job at controlling the pace,” Rodriguez said. “We did a good job of coming down and scoring and taking advantage of their mistakes to extend that lead.”
Pace will be all-important when the Red Knights return to Coatesville to play Spring-Ford, which will want to run a controlled, patterned offense, take time off the clock and catch their opponent napping.
The Rams are not extremely long or fast and don’t have any top-shelf college talent but they play smart, they play together and they play defense. The PAC-10 champs beat Wilson 42-40 on a buzzer-beating putback in early January and Exeter 56-48 during a 20-game winning streak that was halted by Plymouth-Whitemarsh 59-54 in the District 1 championship game.
Spring-Ford’s top scorer is 6-4 sophomore Jacob Nguyen, who’s developed into a true 3-point threat. He’s hit a team-high 89 3’s and is knocking them down at a 46.3 percent clip. He’s also great at the foul line, making 89.9 percent. Nguyen averages a team-high 16.5 points.
Junior guard EJ Campbell is a threat behind the arc, as well; he has 35 3’s and averages 13.7 points. As a team the Rams have 163 3-pointers and are shooting nearly 38 percent from beyond the arc.
They have interior toughness with 6-3 Zach Zollers, a University of Pittsburgh football walk-on, who leads the team in rebounds.
Defensively, Spring-Ford is allowing only 45.4 points per game and limiting opponents to 28.5 percent shooting from 3-point range.
This is Spring-Ford’s first appearance in a state semifinal, and it comes as a bit of a surprise. The Rams finished 13-9 last year and missed the postseason in their first season under former LaSalle High School coach Joe Dempsey. Teams don’t generally double their win total from one season to the next or win instantly their first time in the postseason.
The Red Knights, of course, have been this way before. They don’t need a road map. They understand the urgency of each game while also being relaxed enough to play their best.
“We’re not extra serious, we’re just trying to have fun,” Rodriguez said after scoring a game-high 27 points against New Castle. “We’re not trying to shy from what we are. We’re a really fun team, we love being around each other.
“We’ve been bonding, making a lot of fun moments that we’re gonna remember, because this could be our last week with each other. We’re having fun with each other and having good vibes.”