Rudolph’s game continues
growing by leaps and ’bounds
By Joe Simon
New Castle News
Antonio Rudolph has been showing off his leaping ability for a long time.
Arguably the most athletic kid on a New Castle High basketball team loaded with talented players, Rudolph has been impressing people with his
skills since he was a child.
“When I was a young kid, I would tell my dad to ‘watch this’, and I used to always jump up and try to touch the top of the refrigerator,” Rudolph said with a laugh. “I don’t know why. It was just my thing.”
Rudolph swears there weren’t cookies on that refrigerator. He just wanted to show his dad, T’Andre, himself a former New Castle basketball player, how high he could jump.
Over the past year, the rest of the WPIAL has found out just how high the 6-foot-1 junior can soar. Rudolph, better known as ’Tone by his teammates, has slammed down a number of unbelievable dunks this year, but that’s not all.
He can shoot, too ... and defend ... and he’s fast — really fast.
He displayed all those abilities last week when he scored a team- and career-high 21 points in the Red Hurricane’s WPIAL Class AAA playoff win over Mars in the quarterfinals. The performance earned him Lawrence County Athlete of the Week honors, an award sponsored by Washington Centre Physical Therapy and selected by the New Castle News sports staff.
New Castle coach Ralph Blundo has been lucky enough to watch Rudolph fly to the rim for the last few years. He said he’s running out of adjectives to describe the amazing skill set of the long and rangy Rudolph.
“It’s scary,” said a wide-eyed Blundo.
One of Rudolph’s most electrifying plays came early in the season in a game at Blackhawk. He took a pass from Shawn Anderson on a fast break and immediately bolted into the air and slammed home a ferocious one-handed jam with a man in his face. He was fouled on the play, too.
Yet, his reaction wasn’t what some might expect from a high school kid who just brought the entire crowd to its feet.
He smiled. ... That’s it. No flexing, screaming or taunting. And that’s what is endearing about Rudolph, Blundo said. He’s a mild-mannered kid who lets his play do the talking.
“You never hear about it with ’Tone,” Blundo said. “He’s very, very humble. You saw him (against Blackhawk). He dunked it, turned around and hit a free throw. That’s ’Tone. He might smile — it’s like a sly smirk that kind of says, ‘Did you see that?’ — but that’s really it. And those are the things I love about him. He embodies that humble attitude that our team has, and that’s one of many great character traits that will serve him well long after he leaves here.”
Rudolph, who said he was raised to be modest person, comes off the bench for the undefeated ’Canes (25-0). He plays the same amount of minutes as most of the starters, averaging nearly 10 points per game, but Blundo said his explosive style of play gives New Castle a jolt of energy off the bench.
Rudolph is just fine with that. He’s embraced his role and enjoys it, partly because he can watch what’s going on and how he can exploit the opposing team while he’s on the bench.
“Whatever I see going wrong during the game, I just try to pick it up from that spot,” he said. “My coaches always tell me before I get in to see what they’re doing, and then I can get in the right spots and make things happen.”
He does that in a multitude of ways, too. Blundo said Rudolph is a prolific shooter, but he rarely shows it because he uses his quickness and leaping ability to drive to the rim and finish. Those high-percentage shots are exactly what Blundo wants from his sixth man.
Blundo was quick to point out that Rudolph also leads the team by shooting 77 percent from the free throw line. The second-year coach was adamant that it’s not all just dunks with Rudolph.
“One of the biggest things is that his teammates love him,” he said. “He has a great sense of humor. He doesn’t say much, but when he does, it’s normally really funny. He just has this infectious personality where people gravitate to him.”
Funny, because he’s been levitating over everyone else for so long.
******
THE ANTONIO RUDOLPH FILE
POSITION: Forward
TEAM: New Castle
GRADE: 11
KNOWN FOR: Rudolph is the sixth man for the unbeaten Red Hurricane. He’s averaging 8.8 points per game off the bench and has provided New Castle fans with a number of spectacular dunks this year.
PARENTS: Courtney Hudson and T’Andre Rudolph.
FAVORITE PRO PLAYER AND WHY: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder. “Everything about him I like. He pays attention to everything on offense. When he has to shoot, he shoots, but if he needs to pass, he’ll pass. He does whatever the team needs.”
FAVORITE TEAM AND WHY: University of Kentucky. “I like how they’re young, and when they get things going, they keep it up all the time.”
FUTURE PLANS: Rudolph said he wants to play basketball in college, but he’s still undecided on a school. He wants to focus on law in college.