Takoma Academy vs Bishop O’Connell Scrimmage: Quick Observations

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sunday morning, Takoma Academy hosted Bishop O'Connell for a scrimmage as we prepare to get the 2022-23 season started. The teams started out with some half court situational play before extending it to a full court ordeal. Obviously at this point teams are still very much in the early stages of putting in sets and getting comfortable with their roster/rotation. For this article, I'll point out some quick-hitting observations from the action.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>O'Brien's activity</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was pleased with Bucknell commit [player_tooltip player_id='999645' first='Patrick' last='O'Brien']'s efforts in just about every aspect. He never stopped moving without the ball and always seemed to make himself available in open windows as the ball was swung or teammates penetrated the paint. He made things happen on catches in the corner where he'd utilize a shot fake as his defender closed out and followed up with 1-to-2 dribbles where he established paint touches for floaters or kick-outs to open shooters. He took pride on the glass and helped limit Takoma to one-shot possessions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>I'm buying [player_tooltip player_id='1414531' first='Oliver' last='Spence'] stock</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Spence is a 6-foot-9 sophomore who I first got eyes on a few weeks ago. He still has a ways to go with just getting used to his body, but there's certainly signs of long-term potential as a rim-running big that can impact a game at both ends. For his young age, he shows fight inside battling for boards, uses his length to alter shots in the paint and finishes with soft touch when operating on the block. I'm officially planting a flag on [player_tooltip player_id='1414531' first='Oliver' last='Spence'] island. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cannady poised for a big freshman season</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2026 O'Connell Isaiah Cannady will be the lead guard for Coach Wooten this season and has proven himself over the summer and fall that he's ready for the job. He'll have his share of ups-and-downs as any freshman point guard does, but he has a toughness about him that will allow him to overcome tough situations. He puts consistent pressure on the defense with his pace in transition, uses his quick twitch ability to cover ground in the blink of an eye and can even space the floor with his shot that he can hit well beyond the arc off the catch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Takoma's two intriguing seniors</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 [player_tooltip player_id='1450245' first='Malcolm' last='Day'] and 2023 [player_tooltip player_id='1424650' first='Rejuan' last='Gray'] showed their versatility on both ends and proved to be a fun watch in the open floor. I liked Gray's willingness to advance the ball and even showed good awareness in knowing where his streaking teammates were before the ball hit his hands on rebounds. Day had a strong two-handed flush on a fastbreak and a tough finish through a foul after battling for an offensive board from a teammate's missed free-throw. Both stand around 6'5-6'6 with plus length, good athleticism and enough intriguing upside that programs with scholarships should strongly consider.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other eye-catchers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1259626' first='David' last='Rochester'] competed and showed confidence with his shot from three. On multiple occasions, he came off pin down actions for catches on the wing or corner and quickly got into his fluid release. When the defender recovered in time, he had a couple of nice takes to the rim where he finished despite defenders contesting from the weak side. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2026 class in the DMV runs deep and Adam Oumiddoch has a real argument to be the standard. He has good positional size for his age at 6-foot-4, a quick trigger from three and a feel that is mature beyond his years. He's a guy that the defense cannot afford to leave an ounce of daylight. He already had some impressive scoring performances throughout DMV Live in June and it's safe to assume he'll have a few more this winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->