Nova Notebook: Oumiddoch Left Swimming Behind to Embrace Hoops

In the most recent installment of our summer time “Nova Notebook” sequence we get to know freshman guard Adam Oumiddoch.
 
For the primary decade of his youth, the swimming pool was the place a Virginia native made his athletic mark.
 
Villanova freshman guard Adam Oumiddoch, you see, was a promising aggressive swimmer in his hometown of Woodbridge. As he began racing in occasions close to dwelling, he started piling up a wide range of ribbons and medals.
 
“My parents would take me to the local tournaments,” he says now. “I would win them all. Swimming was my first love.”
 
Those outcomes introduced provides from native membership groups asking him to hitch, together with one from a U15 unit that got here his means when he was solely 10. Yet for all of the success, Oumiddoch says that someday at a follow, he determined that he had had his fill of aggressive swimming.
 
“I was doing the warmups in practice for a 50-meter freestyle,” he remembers. “I told my mom that I didn’t want to do this anymore.”
 
And that was it for swimming.
 
Oumiddoch – pronounced ooh-me-doosh – did not instantly gravitate in direction of basketball. But over the subsequent two years, he started to spend some idle hours taking pictures at an area court docket. At that time, there wasn’t a lot to counsel the sort of rise that will result in him changing into one of many nation’s prime 100 incoming recruits in 2026.
 
“It wasn’t anything serious,” he says now. “I would just go to get some shots up.”
 
A couple of years later, Oumiddoch started basketball coaching in earnest. By the time he reached seventh grade, he had created sufficient curiosity to land a spot on an area hoops squad. Continued improvement introduced him early faculty scholarship provides within the ninth grade. At the conclusion of freshman 12 months of highschool, his potential as an athletic wing weapon was such that he was supplied the chance to symbolize Overtime Elite, an Atlanta primarily based academy that on the time was a G League affiliate.
 
At age 15 Oumiddoch and his father, Mehdi Oumiddoch, moved to Atlanta.
 
“It was definitely a process,” he states. “By the time I got there as a sophomore, there were a lot of older guys.”
 
He fashioned a bond with teammate Mikel Brown, who later went on to a standout season at Louisville in 2025-26 and was chosen by the Brooklyn Nets in final June’s first spherical of the National Basketball Association draft.
 
“We were super close,” notes Oumiddoch. “We would go back to the gym after practices. It was good to be around people like him. Playing with and against guys like that at a young age prepared me to be where I’m at now. It’s different than the normal high school basketball.”
 
The curiosity from schools impressed by the graceful taking pictures stroke and athleticism quickly adopted. After initially committing to St. John’s, Oumiddoch re-opened his recruitment in February and in the end signed at Villanova.
 
As he assessed his choices after re-opening his recruitment, phrases spoken by his mom, Nezha ‘Nancy’ Oumiddoch, echoed in his ideas.
 
“My mom always told me, ‘go where your heart is,'” he says. “Villanova was that place for me.”
 
In the months since, Oumiddoch has slot in properly at Nova.
 
“I’ve enjoyed this,” states the guard. “I have been close with the coaches since they recruited me, and I’ve only gotten closer to them. The vibe is great. As players, we’re building chemistry with one another. The intensity in the workouts has been high. The first couple of months have been amazing and I’m excited for the start of the season.”
 
At the conclusion of the second summer time session in late July, Oumiddoch bought the prospect to re-connect with a part of his household heritage. Both of his mother and father are initially from Morocco and the household returned there for 10 days in early August.
 
“I have family there – grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins,” he states. “This was my first trip back in about 10 years. It was a great trip and experience. Hopefully, one day maybe I’ll get to play with (Morocco) on the international stage.”
 
These days, the 6-5, 202-pound guard is adjusting to the brand new actuality of life as a Villanova freshman. There are day by day classes on the court docket and off it. As considered one of three freshmen on the Wildcats’ roster alongside Carter Fisk and Luigi Suigo, Oumiddoch is absorbing all he can from the extra seasoned members of the squad.
 
“They’re told me to stay ready,” he notes.
 
Oumiddoch has identified fellow Virginia native Tyler Perkins for a couple of years now and pays shut heed to “Perk’s” knowledge.
 
“He’s given me tips, told me things that are different from high school basketball at this level,” Oumiddoch states. “I’ve been preparing myself and I feel like it’s going well.”
 
In a matter of two months precisely – on Nov. 1 – Oumiddoch and his Villanova teammates will probably be on the court docket in Rome to fulfill Notre Dame on the Eternal City Tip-Off.
 
“Can’t wait,” he provides.