CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Go within earshot of just about any basketball court in the Kanawha Valley and you can hear the talk.
Not the trash talk that is almost a perfunctory part of the playground game, but rather the talk of player movement from high school to high school.
Conversations of "who's going where" and "who's staying there" have made the summertime version of the winter seem more like a trip to the barber shop.
"A lot of times you have kids that are friends with kids who go to different schools and they play together a lot during summer ball or fall ball. That leads to a lot of it," George Washington High boys basketball Coach Rick Greene said.
His team has been the topic of one of the most noteworthy speculations of player transfer: that of South Charleston rising sophomore Rashawn "Shawnie" Badger.
Greene said he knows nothing of such a move and wouldn't until school begins in late August.
"There's a lot of that kind of talk that goes around all the time," Greene said. "But until someone enrolls in a school and shows up the first day, no one really knows anything."
Under West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission rules a player must move his or her physical address into the new school district in order to be immediately eligible to participate in sports.
The rule came under scrutiny last winter, when then-Winfield High senior Lamar Clark was deemed ineligible after returning to Putnam County from the Hedgesville area in the Eastern Panhandle.
Winfield was stripped of nine victories for using an ineligible player, but as part of an agreement with the SSAC Board of Directors, Clark was granted his eligibility through the remainder of the 2008 season because of the specifics of his personal situation.
Winfield Coach Pat McGinnis referred to the Clark case when asked about this season's round of potential player movement.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Go within earshot of just about any basketball court in the Kanawha Valley and you can hear the talk.
Not the trash talk that is almost a perfunctory part of the playground game, but rather the talk of player movement from high school to high school.
Conversations of "who's going where" and "who's staying there" have made the summertime version of the winter seem more like a trip to the barber shop.
"A lot of times you have kids that are friends with kids who go to different schools and they play together a lot during summer ball or fall ball. That leads to a lot of it," George Washington High boys basketball Coach Rick Greene said.
His team has been the topic of one of the most noteworthy speculations of player transfer: that of South Charleston rising sophomore Rashawn "Shawnie" Badger.
Greene said he knows nothing of such a move and wouldn't until school begins in late August.
"There's a lot of that kind of talk that goes around all the time," Greene said. "But until someone enrolls in a school and shows up the first day, no one really knows anything."
Under West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission rules a player must move his or her physical address into the new school district in order to be immediately eligible to participate in sports.
The rule came under scrutiny last winter, when then-Winfield High senior Lamar Clark was deemed ineligible after returning to Putnam County from the Hedgesville area in the Eastern Panhandle.
Winfield was stripped of nine victories for using an ineligible player, but as part of an agreement with the SSAC Board of Directors, Clark was granted his eligibility through the remainder of the 2008 season because of the specifics of his personal situation.
Winfield Coach Pat McGinnis referred to the Clark case when asked about this season's round of potential player movement.
"You hear all kinds of stuff this time of year and it really makes you wonder how some transfers aren't questioned on the state level and some are," McGinnis said. "The case with Lamar last year was like that, but you hear so many things about players going to different schools that it really does make you wonder how they do it."
Poca, a Putnam County rival of Winfield, already has lost one player from its 2008 roster to transfer. Senior Matt Orcutt will attend South Charleston and has been participating in summer activities with the Black Eagles.
Orcutt, who lives in South Charleston, was the second-leading scorer for the Dots last season behind All-State guard and WVU recruit Noah Cottrill. Orcutt averaged 11.9 points per game.
"I talked to (South Charleston Coach) Bobby (Dawson) about that and he said he didn't know how kids do it, either," McGinnis said of Orcutt's return to South Charleston.
Dawson was outspoken about the addition of transfer Thomas Peden from George Washington in the middle of last season. Dawson had said although Peden had friends on the Black Eagles' roster and would be welcomed to play, he would have to work his way toward any playing time.
Peden, who moved into the South Charleston district prior to his transfer, became a functional reserve for the Black Eagles in their second consecutive Class AAA State Tournament runner-up finish.
Dawson was unavailable for comment Thursday.
In somewhat of a tradeoff with Dawson's program, Poca reportedly will welcome Jason Cuffee to the fold. The 5-foot-6 point guard is ranked as the No. 266 incoming sophomore in the nation by chicagohoops.com. Cuffee attended South Charleston last year, but he is listed by the Website as a student at Poca.
Greene said he misses the days when players grew up in high school feeder systems and their goal was to play for their area school.
"I don't think it's ever going to go back to that, though," Greene said. "With AAU and summer ball and fall ball, kids play with so many different kids from other areas and there's a real draw for them to play with their friends as well as other things.
"I just liked the days when a kid went to John Adams and dreamed of growing up to wear the maroon and white to play for GW."
