It’s a new era for the Reading High boys basketball team and leading the way is first-year head coach Francis Camara.
Camara, a 2008 Reading High grad, takes over after generational 2022-23 Red Knights squad reached the pinnacle of Pennsylvania high school basketball.
Under Rick Perez, the winningest coach in program history and 2023 Class 6A Coach of the Year in the state, last year’s Red Knights won county, District 3 and state championships and finished 32-1.
Those titles were fueled by seniors and lifelong friends Ruben Rodriguez, the Red Knights’ all-time points leader and the 2023 state Class 6A Player of the Year; All-State third-team selections Myles Grey and Aris Rodriguez; and Amier Burdine.
Well aware of the significance Reading High basketball holds in the community, the opportunity to help a renowned program turn over a new leaf is a dream come true for Camara.
“Having an opportunity to coach at this high school and represent the city and the community has been a dream come true to me,” Camara said. “Obviously, I’ve played here. I’ve coached under Coach Perez. I played under Coach Perez as well, so it’s just a family thing. And we just want to continue to grow and develop that (family atmosphere) as we move forward.
“It means everything (coaching the Red Knights). If you’re not from inside the city, you truly don’t understand. There’s a connection in the city through growing up and playing at the parks and going to other parks on different sides of the city. Just growing and developing through the city and maturing through the city is amazing.”
With so many changes, growth and development on the court may have to come fast for a group of starters not used to seeing consistent minutes. While the roster may be different, the relentless, aggressive style that the Reading High faithful have come to expect seems to still be soundly in place.
“The biggest difference between this team and last year’s team is obviously the experience,” Camara said. “You have four seniors on last year’s team that impacted the game and we have seniors coming back that have played, but they don’t have the same playing experience in all the same situations.
“But the benefit to that is they’ve been able to compete over the past 3-4 years against a class that just graduated, so that only helped them grow and develop.
“The names are totally different, the playing style is still similar. We have a lot of athletic guys who can shoot, dribble, pass, and we don’t really focus on specific positions. We try to push the tempo. Our defense creates our offense; we try to make teams uncomfortable and get them out of their habits so we can push the tempo offensively.”
A week into the regular season and Reading High (2-2) has seen its share of positives and negatives as a new group of senior starters in Yadiel Cruz, Malik Osumanu and Nick Chapman look to carry on the success of recent seasons.
“We want to try to be better than they were,” Osumanu said. “And it is gonna take a lot of work, but we’re willing to do whatever it takes.”
“Yadiel, Malik and Nick Chapman are a huge force because they’re the guys who have valid playing experience in those high-pressure situations,” Camara said, “and they understand what it means to be composed and stick to your habits and just play tough in order to be successful in those situations.
“Obviously, you’re gonna go through adversity. Games have peaks and valleys; you do good things, you do bad things. But it’s important to stay level and stay together, and that’s what those three bring for our team. They’re helping the guys grow and understand that as well.”
The Red Knights won a 65-62 non-league thriller on the road at Hazelton Monday on a 3-pointer by senior Daquan Burgess with four seconds left. Burgess made five 3s and finished with 15 points, while Cruz scored a game-high 25 and had 10 rebounds against the Cougars.
Cruz leads the team in scoring at 17.8 points per game. Chapman is averaging 10.8 points per game.
The win over Hazleton was a nice rebound for Reading High.
The Red Knights fell 61-47 to Bonner-Prendergast at Friday’s Hoop Group Showcase at the Geigle. The Friars outscored the Red Knights 19-8 in the fourth. After that game, Osumanu reflected on the work that needs to be done.
“We have to push each other better in practice,” said Osumanu, who is third on the team in scoring at 7.8 points per game. “We’re not where we want to be right now, but we will get there. Every game that we play we’re learning different things that we can do to make each other better in the future.
“It’s still the same culture; our culture. I think we’re still building chemistry since it’s a really new team. Some of the guys that are playing varsity this year, it’s their first time seeing the floor like this. Throughout each game and every practice, the chemistry is gonna continue to build.”
Nico Sosa, a senior who averaged 2.2 points per game over 26 games last season, is one of those players who should see his minutes and stats rise. He’s averaging 5.0 per game.
Regardless of the changes, Sosa said he believes that the expectations from the community are always high and that the Red Knights need to foster a fervent work ethic and championship drive.
“We need to work harder because at the end of the day we don’t have the team we had last year and no one cares that we don’t have that team,” Sosa said Friday night. “They still want (us) to chase championships. We gotta stay ready and be hungry.”
In addition to the seniors stepping into lead roles for the first time, several underclassmen are looking to make a splash.
According to Camara, sophomore point guard Weshly Rosario has all the tools to make an impact in the near future.
Rosario has 17 points and is 4-for-4 from the foul line through three games this season.
“I think we got some young talent coming up that is going to be able to fit into our program, our culture, our values and help us continue to grow,” Camara said. “First one would be Weshly Rosario. He’s a very, very smart IQ basketball player. He sees things ahead of time. He runs the show for us and I love his development so far. The key thing for him is just to make sure that he takes care of the basketball and continues to stick to our habits offensively and defensively. But I like his growth so far and I think he’s going to be huge for us moving forward.”
Camara’s son, Jeremiah Camara, a freshman, also has been productive this season, averaging 6.8 points per game. Needless to say, the experience of aiding in his son’s progress as a basketball player will be special to the coach.
“I’m blessed to be in a position where I can watch my son in training every day and to watch the journey as a father,” Camara said. “But on the other side of it, I am also a coach and it’s very important to make sure we manage that relationship and I think we do our jobs and have a good balance of that.
“I’m always going to be a dad first, but we both know and understand that I’m a basketball coach. And I think we do a great job of balancing that and what better position would there be for me to be in?”
With a non-league test at Imhotep Charter slated for Saturday at 7 p.m. before league play begins at home against Gov. Mifflin on Dec. 19, Camara said he is proud of the progress the Red Knights are making but understands that there is room for improvement.
“I think there’s a lot of things to work on,” Camara said. “There’s so many things that we can clean up. But I’m very happy with our progress. We just try to take things day by day. We talk about it every day, stack the days and try to make the next day better than the day before.
“Defensively, we can always be better communication-wise. Offensively, you’ll miss shots, you’ll make shots. If we defend every possession with a rebound and are able to push the tempo, we’re going to be fine and we’re gonna give ourselves a chance.”
Expectations and championship aspirations aside, success for Reading High may indeed prove to be more than medals and trophies in 2024.
“Our goals and expectations are to grow and be better tomorrow,” Camara said. “Our team is too young to look down the line. We have to be in the present. So the only thing we’re really really worried about is improving day by day.
“That’s pretty much it; if we improve day by day, then we’ll have a successful season.”
Source: Berkshire mont