Oakdale edges Springbrook for Maryland Elite Title: 10 Best
Maryland Elite 2017 Summer League Championship, July 27.
Oakdale Bears HS. Ijamssville, MD.
Head Coach Coach: Terry Connolly
VS.
Springbrook Blue-Devils HS. Silver Spring, MD.
Head Coach : Darnell Meyers
Video courtesy of our friend Marc Stern @ Capitol Hoops.
Tonight was the culmination of the playoffs for the Maryland Elite Summer League which is played at The Jewish Day School, in Rockville, MD. Oakdale held off Springbrook 69-68 wining their 13 straight game in the Maryland Elite summer league to finish @ 13-1 in a great Championship. Springbrook made a valiant comeback led by 2018 PG Delanio Jessup who scored 21 straight points & hit 6 straight 3 pointers late in the second half. Collin Schlee and JP DeLorenzo led Oakadale with 23 & 17 points respectively in a very chippy contest. We chatted with Daniel Dorsey who played on last seasons Quince Orchard 4A state finalist team and asked him to describe Oakdale. His answer was the same as ours, “Oakdale is us last year.” Oakdale displays great ball movement and position play with great chemistry. The final featured 2 excellent Coaches in Oakdale HC Terry Connolly & Springbrook HC Darnell Meyers who are very intense & entertaining.
Oakdale HS is located in Frederick County about 20 miles north of Rockville. The Bears finished last season at 22-3 with the losses by a combined 5 points and the final was a heart-breaker to Seneca Valley in The Maryland Regionals 53- 52. The Bears only return 3 players from last years roster and just one starter rising junior Collen Schlee whose brother Corey was named 1st Team All Maryland (Non DMV) by Prep Hoops this spring. Despite heavy graduation losses Oakdale will have a superb team this coming season & in our opinion could once again be the team to beat in Frederick County. Special mention must be made to Tuscarora HS which last season finished at 21-4 in Frederick County who beat Seneca Valley (MD 3A semifinalist) and an excellent Quince Orchard HS team which lost in the Maryland 4A State finals in OT to Perry Hall.
Springbrook HS is being mentioned as one of the best Montgomery County 4A teams and we agree with assessment, but we must add their local rival Paint Branch to the mix. We will have a more in depth MOCO analysis next week and their players. Springbrook was without star 6’4″ WG Matthew Balanc (multiple D1 offers) who is playing in a Grassroots tournament in Orlando, FL with Mid Atlantic Select. We do not want to take anything away from Oakdale and will say they are capable of beating anyone in MOCO this coming year. However, if Springbrook plays up to their potential, they could see themselves in the Maryland State 4A Final 4 at The University Of Maryland. Oakdale has the potential to reach the Maryland 3A State Final 4.
The excellent Maryland Elite summer league began on June 6 & consisted of 24 teams with 15 from Montgomery County public high schools. Please see playoff scores in and videos for the semifinals. We have been attending the MD Elite Summer League game for several weeks and special thanks go to Jewish Day School Head Coach & MD Elite Summer League Director Coach Dave McCloud and Maryland Elite Vice President Azhar Shamsudeen for their great hospitality, knowledge and help. Shortly we will have a write up for the Maryland Elite Grassroots Team who play in the DMV Elite grassroots tournament July 29 & 3o in Bowie.
CO GAME MVP : Collin Schlee, 6’3″,CG, Oakdale HS, 2019.
Collin was on fire the 1st half and did everything for Oakdale. He finished with 23 points, but Collin impacts the game without scoring. He is one of the most impressive payers we have seen this summer, and has an off the chart skill set. He can score on pull-ups, hit 3s off he dribble, attack the rim & finish which he did tonight. Collin is capable of running the offense and he is an excellent passer and ball handler in addition to being a tough defender. At the games conclusion Collin was jersey was drenched from his hustle, but looked ready for another round.
CO GAME MVP: Delanio Jessup, 6’0″ PG, Springbrook HS, 2019.
We usually do not like to award 2 MVPs but Delanio’s play was incredible. We will leave a few of his plays out for another award. Dleanio finsihed with 28 points and scored 6 3 pointers in a row in the 2nd half, and scored 21 points in a row for Springbrook. However, Delanio is a true PG and he was all over the floor with great hustle and impacted the game on both sides. We will have a Recruiting Report for Delanio tomorrow & we have seen him play at the DeMatha Summer League as well. If he is not on the floor Springbrook is not the same team and he is an excellent college prospect.
Best Rebounder: Peace Addo, 6’5″, C/PF, Springbrook HS, 2018.
Peace played last year on Springbrook’s football and basketball teams. He is a D1 college football offensive line football recruit at 6’5″ 285. Despite his super strong & large frame. Peace is very coordinated, has a very high basketball IQ, can run the floor and he will dive on the floor. Due to other commitments we did not see Peace until this week and we were surprised of how good of shape he is in for basketball. In fact Peace looked like he had been playing all summer long. Once Peace gets position the ball is his and he has great hands. He had numerous rebounds and scored 10 points and if he plays basketball this year for the Blue Devils he will be a huge asset. However, he does have football offers from schools like UCLA.
Best Defensive Players of the Game:
Delanio Jessup, 6’0″ PG, Springbrook HS, 2019.
Delanio is a very tough on ball defender and who plays with high energy
JP DeLorenzo, 6’2″, G/SF, Oakdale HS 2018.
JP will make disruptive deflections in the passing lanes & can make a few steals per game.
Collin Schlee, 6’3″,CG, Oakdale HS, 2019.
Collin is a very smart defender and always gets a few strips each game and is a coast to coast threat to score.
Noah Pok. 6’6″, F, Oakdale HS, 2018.
Noah knows how to get position, rebounds well in traffic and boxes out well.
Anthony Desruisseau, 6’2″, CG, Springbrook HS, 2018.
Anthony is a very long and very good all around defender.
Please read our recent Recruiting Report for Anthony below:
Best Rim Attacker & Most unsung: JP DeLorenzo , 6’2″ G/SF, Oakdale HS 2018.
We have been impressed with JP and his ability to slash and get to the rim. Tonight he totaled 17 points and JP has a great knack of finding the open seams thru flash cuts or attacking the rim off the dribble and converting thru contact. JP brings great energy to the Bears is vocal leader for Oakdale & had huge game for the Bears. He can hit the 3 point shot and is a very solid all around player. We will be writing a Recruiting Report for JP in August.
Best Floor General: Drew Jezioro, 5’11”, PG, Oakdale HS, 2018.
Drew is a fantastic ball mover with great vision & a very high basketball IQ. He runs the show for Oakdale and is a true PG & excellent ball handler. Drew totaled 8 points tonight and his passing was excellent. He can score in transition, at rim and hit pull-ups or 3s when needed. After the game I asked Drew if he knew who Mark Price was because he has some of the same style of play, but Drew is too young.
Play of the Game: Delanio Jessup, 6’0″, PG, Springbrook HS, 2018.
We can award 2 plays of the game for Delanio, one was a buzzer beating 3 point shot at the ned of the 1st half to pull Springbrook within 3 points ans the Blue Devils made a great comeback with Oakdale up bey double digits earlier. the second was a drive in which Delanio swiched the ball from his right to left hand a covereted an acrobatic layup for a 3 point play.
Most Under the Radar: Noah Pok. 6’6″, F, Oakdale HS, 2018.
Noah scored 6 points before fouling out, but had numerous rebounds. We are very impressed by his toughness, high IQ, ability to maneuver in the paint and score over bigger opponents. In the semis vs Bullis Noah was guarding 7’5″ Bullis junior center Watara Mountari and did a very good job of knowing the best angles to defend him in Oakdales 76-73 OT win. We will be writing a recruiting report for Noah in August.
Best Glue Player: Michael Germain, 6’3″, W, Springbrook HS, 2018.
Michael makes many hustle plays for the Blue Devils and the intangibles. The lefty is very creative around the basket and scores on floaters, and can find the open very well, as well as defend. We will have a Recruiting Report for Michael in August. Some College Schools expressed interest in him this week.
Best glue Player 2: Cory Cheyng, 6’4″, F, Oakdale HS, 2018.
Cory totaled 8 points tonight and he always seems to be in the right position. He scored in the mid range, down low & provided great energy off the bench and is not afraid to mix it up.
Most Versatile Player: Collin Schlee, 6’3″,CG, Oakdale HS, 2019.
Collin can guard multiples positions and play 4 positions on offense. He can score from all 3 levels and is an excellent college prospect.
Most versatile Big: Cameron Rucker, 6’6″, WF Springbrook HS, 2018.
Cameron scored 11 points before fouling out and can hit baskets from the point line, attacking the rim, and mid range. We have described his skill-set as a point forward and he has D1 potential.Please read our Recruiting Report for Cameron below:
Maryland Elite semifinals:
Oakdale 76 Bullis 73 OT
Springbrook 69 Northwest 64
Video courtesy of our friend Marc Stern @ Capitol Hoops.