Ruben Rodriguez-Reading

Ruben Rodriguez is a cool customer on the court, but the all-state guard admitted that he was “freaking out” right before tipoff at Santander Arena. Why? Because he couldn’t find his jersey. Just seconds before the game against Vertical Academy started, Ruben’s dad came to the rescue with his son’s #2 jersey. It ended up being a big night for the Rodriguez family. Ruben’s dad is an assistant coach for the Red Knights. They beat the highly touted team from Charlotte 71-66 in an instant classic! Rodriguez finished with a game-high 22 points and reached 1,000 on a layup early in the fourth quarter. Reading built a 39-31 advantage at halftime and led 52-45 after the third period. The Red Knights were in front 57-47 before Vertical Academy went on an 8-0 run. 6’3 junior guard Treymane Parker got hot late. He drilled a 3-pointer to tie it at 61 with two minutes remaining. Parker hit another triple with 45 seconds to go which gave Vertical Academy a 66-63 lead. Reading trailed by one when Myles Grey came up with a huge steal that set up Rodriguez’s fast break layup with 13 seconds on the clock. Mikey Williams, ranked #16 by ESPN in the Class of 2023, was fouled with eight seconds left and Vertical Academy down 67-66. The 6’3 guard missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with the crowd of 4,400 roaring. Joey Chapman and Rodriguez went 4-4 from the free throw line in the closing seconds to ice it. The (14-2) Red Knights were 13-20 from the FT stripe, but they made the shots when they counted the most. Reading was 9-10 in the fourth quarter. I asked Rodriguez about his emotions. He said, “It’s just a dream come true to perform in a city like this.” The 6’1 junior gave credit to Myles Grey for his pivotal steal, and said he’s an elite defender. Rodriguez talked about facing Williams who had a team-high 18 points including three 3’s. Williams got a technical foul with 6:48 left in the third period. He picked up his fourth foul three minutes later and went to the bench. Williams has offers from numerous Division I schools including Kansas, Memphis, USC, and Arizona State. Parker contributed 14 points for Vertical Academy. He played the entire game without a jersey. 6’9 senior Khouri Carvey had twelve points. Rodriguez knows that this was a great experience for the Red Knights. He was proud of how they stayed focused down the stretch. 6’5 senior Daniel Alcantara dropped 14 points. Chapman chipped in with ten points and Grey had nine. Reading is averaging 72 points per game. Rodriguez told me that no team can run with them. The Red Knights will battle Archbishop Wood on Saturday night in a rematch of last year’s Class 6A state championship. That’s the finale of the Geigle Classic which features six games in one day.