Ruben Rodriguez's career at Reading High was a shining example for others to follow

Jun. 25—For a player that accomplished seemingly everything there was to achieve during his time on the high school basketball court, Reading High's Ruben Rodriguez's greatest achievement may not be recognized in any kind of record book.

While the reigning PIAA Class 6A Player of the Year has plenty of stats and gold medals — two Berks, four District 3 (including one as a freshman at Muhlenberg) and two state — to hang his hat on, the character Rodriguez maintained throughout his career created a lasting impact more powerful than the accolades show.

"Ruben gives every kid the opportunity for their dream to become a reality," Red Knights basketball coach Rick Perez said. "He's not a 6-7 athlete who is through the roof. Ruben really worked. He looks, walks and talks just like everybody else. He makes the ultimate goal attainable.

"He's really committed to competing. He's committed to hard work. He's committed to everything that it took, and look at the outcome. And that is what we can use as an example for the many other athletes that come through the program."

Indeed, commitment and a tireless work ethic culminated into a picture-perfect 2022-23 season for Rodriguez and the Reading High basketball team.

Rodriguez, a Rider University commit, averaged a league-high 21.7 points per game as a senior, was named a first-team All-State selection in Class 6A for the third year in a row, the Berks Player of the Year for the second year in a row, and surpassed 2,000 career points (ending with 2,008 to rank seventh on Berks County's all-time list), all while helping lead the Red Knights to a perfect record in Pennsylvania — and 32-1 overall — that included wins in the county, district and state finals.

In addition, Rodriguez displayed his athletic talents on the football field and was an All-Berks selection and was named the Lancaster-Lebanon League Receiver of the Year after compiling 933 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns in 2022. He also made three interceptions.

He holds the Reading High basketball records for most points in a game, as well as in a playoff game, but, according to his coaches, the 6-2 guard let selflessness and friendship drive the way to success.

For those performances, Rodriguez has been selected as one of five finalists for the Reading Eagle's male Athlete of the Year, which will be announced June 29.

"He was never afraid to share in the spotlight," Perez said. "He was never afraid to differ when he needed to; he understood all aspects of leadership. He doesn't always need to lead from the front, but he's always had big dreams and he's always been a David versus Goliath (story). And he's always won.

"Ruben was never afraid of anybody on the court. Really, coming up with the group that he came up with, they always felt like they were in touch. I always felt like they were the best team on the court, and they played with that confidence."

Maybe even more special than going out on top is the fact that Rodriguez did it with his lifelong friends. On the basketball court, Rodriguez was joined by fellow All-Berks and All-State seniors Myles Grey and Aris Rodriguez, as well as senior Amier Burdine, all of whom he had been playing with since their elementary school days.

An embodiment of fellowship, the Red Knights played for each other and the city their school represented.

So much so, Rodriguez's main motivation for playing football, despite the potential that an injury could derail his senior basketball season, was to be there for his friend.

"To be honest, I really played football because of Amier," Rodriguez said of Burdine, Reading High's quarterback. "I wanted to help him out and get to experience it because if I hadn't I would have looked back and said, 'I should have played.'

"We've always had that type of connection and bond. So it was really just us going out there and having fun. We would always play catch with each other outside of practice so when we got to games it was natural. For a moment, I was really locked in on football."

"He made a huge sacrifice because you never know what can happen when you're playing another sport," said Reading High football coach Troy Godinet, a first-year head coach in 2022. "You already have Division I offers, you already have the opportunity to play Division I basketball. And yet, he came out to pretty much be there for the other kids on the football team and to be here for our program.

"That's not a selfish thing. He's a very selfless kid and he wants to do what he can do for other people on a regular basis. I think that's the strongest thing about his character."

That type of synergy between Rodriguez and Burdine propelled the Red Knights football team forward, according to Godinet. Reading High enjoyed its best season since 2019-20 and the way in which Burdine and Rodriguez pushed each other will have reverberations for years to come.

"I think they were two very vocal voices in the locker room as far as expectations from the game and holding people accountable to a winning culture, what they wanted to build," Godinet said. "They made everybody around them better based upon that relationship. They knew they could count on each other in certain situations. Ruben scored a couple touchdowns on fourth down, so that just shows you that Amier trusted him in every aspect.

"They have that relationship where they want to push each other and motivate each other and hold each other accountable to be the best that they can.

"He (Rodriguez) wanted to help develop a culture here and leave a legacy within the football program. He did that with his attitude, his everyday approach, the way he works. Let's be honest, he's not a kid that had been coached up to play football, but he just went out there as an athlete and made plays. It really led our guys to get to where we are. Honestly, we're light-years ahead of where we felt we would be and a lot of that has to do with the fact that he made a sacrifice to build something here and help leave a legacy."

For an athlete that has had a resounding ripple effect in his community, it only makes sense that Rodriguez began his athletic journey by being influenced by other Reading High basketball players.

From the Third and Spruce Recreation Center to signing autographs on the floor of the Geigle, Rodriguez's progression is something of a hometown fairy tale. And while he likely would have been great at any sport he set his mind to, the Red Knight faithful are lucky that baseball was too slow a game for a young Rodriguez.

"When I was younger, I played baseball and I didn't like it because it was too stand still for me," Rodriguez said. "So I tried another sport and basketball was it because my mom worked at the rec center at Third and Spruce.

"I was in there every day and I would see people from the high school gym and they and their friends would run fullcourt games. My goal was always to be able to play with them. So that made me go a little harder and want to start playing."

Perez noted that Rodriguez's competitiveness perhaps stands out among all of his strengths on the court and the admirable aspects of personality. Though he may have looked up to many of his older peers, Perez said that Rodriguez always had the confidence to prove that he was the best.

"He just loves to compete," Perez said. "When he first returned back to the high school (from playing his freshmen season at Muhlenberg), I asked him, 'Who do you think you're better than on our team?'

"And I literally gave him a marker, and told him to list the names and he put his name first, as a sophomore, he put his name above Daniel Alcantara; he put his name above Moro Osumanu, a first-team All-Stater; Joey Chapman; that's a heavy list. He's always had that confidence, but he was always humble about it. There was no ego about it, and that's what makes him special."

A proverbial king of the castle, Rodriguez strived to show the same pursuit of excellence on the football field in a way that inspired those around him.

"He took the risk, and he sacrificed his time and energy and honestly his chance to get better at basketball to come on the football field and share his knowledge and competitive nature," Godinet said, "And the love and the camaraderie of being on a better team (he brought) to the football team.

"He'll forever be remembered as one of the better athletes that ever came through this school district."

Ultimately, a career that stood for all the values the Reading High programs look to represent: grit, relentlessness and community, resulted in a storybook finish. Although in reality, the ending may in fact turn out to be simply the close of a chapter as Perez said he believes greatness is still in store for Rodriguez's future.

And while he may move on to even bigger things, the legend of one of the most accomplished players in Reading High history will always live on.

"I'm happy to say that we ended it the way we did because I feel like there's no better way to end it," Rodriguez said. "We all gave everything we had so looking back it's great to think about."

"Moving forward in the future, I think he'll have a very successful career at Rider," Perez said. "I think he's going to play basketball for a very long time, but I see Ruben being very active in our community. And really making sure that others can see the dream and how it can be achieved.

"His legacy is not done on the basketball court or football field. There's so much more for him to achieve. This is just a springboard to a whole other level for him. The legend is real."