You could write a book about it
For years Tony Zonca considered Reading High’s 1982-83 team his personal favorite among the 50 or so Red Knights basketball teams he has watched.
The team included Pat Tulley, Charlie Chisholm and Rodney Hodge; it was coached by Rick Binder and won 32 games, a Berks record.
“That was a true team,” said Zonca, who covered that team, and many others, for the Reading Eagle. “They got after you defensively. They were fast, smart, they valued the ball. Nobody cared who was the top scorer. It was just a terrific team to watch.”
Last year’s Red Knights team reminded Zonca a lot of that fabled ’82-83 group. He wasn’t around the players personally, as he has been with so many Reading teams, but he grew to love them because of how hard they played, how selfless they were and because of how they stayed together through some very difficult times.
“That team did all of the fine points, all of the fundamental things, that Pete Carril taught and that Jim Gano taught,” said Zonca, referring to the Red Knights’ most legendary coaches, guys he calls pillars of what has become Pennsylvania’s winningest basketball program.
Zonca began compiling a history book about the Red Knights’ storied program long before Moro Osumanu and Joey Chapman won his heart, but those guys are central figures in his recently published: “60 years of Reading High Basketball: Carril to Perez.”
The 36-page book began as a video tribute. That was the idea Red Knights coach Rick Perez initially had as a way to honor the program. Over the years it morphed into a book filled with Zonca’s personal recollections of Reading’s finest coaches, players and moments.
There are a ton of them.
Zonca, 81, recalls the time at Martz Hall in 1973 when fans booed when Marian Catholic coach Bobby Fulton held the ball because his team couldn’t contend with Stu Jackson.
“Stu was like a rock star,” Zonca said. “People came out to see him play. They didn’t come out to see Reading High play, they wanted to see him. Stu was amazing.”
The Red Knights have had their share of all-time greats, guys who would pack the gym, but Zonca said Jackson mesmerized fans more than even Donyell Marshall or Lonnie Walker IV.
Zonca profiles Reading’s greatest players, coaches and teams and dives into one of its greatest games, the triple-overtime District 3 championship-game win over Steel-High.
He polled a dozen Red Knights coaches to compile a list of the program’s top 50 players and came up with five five-man teams — ranked No. 1 to No. 5 — plus 25 honorable mention picks.
Few people know Reading’s program inside and out like Zonca. He was a sportswriter for 45 years and covered the team on a daily basis for about 15 of them, from the start of Gano’s reign in 1971 through the end of Rick Binder’s short stint, which ended in 1984.
His son Chris played with Marshall on the 1990 Berks Conference championship team. Zonca became a father-like figure to many of the players during that era; he and his wife Banny even adopted one of them for a brief period.
Later, Zonca was a volunteer assistant coach for Richie Reyes and Perez, and he kept the team’s scorebook for several years. He remains a sounding board for Perez.
Zonca loved the way Gano’s teams played. He’s a purist and sees the game like a coach. All the unappreciated things are important to him: Setting screens, sharing the ball, boxing out, playing defense.
“I always admired basketball teams that played together and did all the little things that were important to the game,” he said.
That’s why he grew so fond of last year’s championship group and devotes several chapters to its story.
“That ’83 team, when they walked on the floor, their opponents weren’t impressed — they were just a team,” Zonca said. “Same thing last year.
“Other than Moro, who was 6-6, and Daniel (Alcantara, who is 6-4), they didn’t impress you (physically). They truly were happy to play and valued each game. They were the true epitome of a team.”
The book sells for $18 and can be purchased at all Reading High home games. Zonca and his son funded production costs; any proceeds will be donated to the basketball program.
Zonca didn’t write the book to make a couple bucks; his goal was grander than that.
“You reach a certain age where you want to leave something behind so people remember who you are, and what you did,” he said. “That becomes important to you: Leaving something behind that you can be proud of and was a big part of your life.”
- “60 years of Reading High Basketball: Carril to Perez” is available by mail for $20.50 by sending a check to Anthony J. Zonca, 1006 Whitford Drive, Reading, PA 19605.
