MORGANTOWN — When Rodney Bucklew walked off the Charleston Coliseum floor after helping University win the state championship on March 16, he figured that was the official ending of his high school basketball career.
It was the storybook ending most dream of — winning the first state title in school history as one of just two seniors on the team, being named all-tournament in he process — but a proposal made Bucklew want to add another chapter to his career.
Bucklew was invited to play in the 30th annual Scott Brown Little General Classic, which moved from Beckley to Morgantown this year and will tip at 2 p.m. Sunday at UHS.
“It was kind of a surprise,” said Bucklew, who scored eight points in West Virginia’s OVAC all-star game loss last Sunday. “Coach (Joe) Schmidle told me two weeks about it, so now I get to finish my high school career on my home court.
“There’s no other way I’d want to end it.”
On a team highlighted by star guards Kaden Metheny and K.J. McClurg, Bucklew was a steady contributor at forward. His length helped him do the dirty work for the Hawks as a rebounder and inside scorer.
Doing the little things out of the spotlight is what made him easy to coach, according to Schmidle, who will also be the head man for Bucklew’s team, Employers’ Innovative Network, on Sunday.
“I’m really happy Rodney gets to play on his home floor in front of family and friends, and hopefully as happy as I am that I get to coach him one last time. He’s been a joy to coach, so I’m very thankful for this opportunity.”
Bucklew will likely be asked to do the same thing for Employers’ Innovative Network. He’ll be joined by West Virginia signees Oscar Tshiebwe and Miles McBride, as well as Tshiebwe’s Kennedy Catholic teammate Mattia Acunzo, a Toledo signee.
They will face Huntington Prep’s Quinn Slazinski (Louisville signee) and Teays Valley Christian’s Anderson Mirambeaux (Morehead State commit).
“I was also really happy for Rodney to have the opportunity to play in a game with and against some really good talent,” Schmidle said. “Not a lot of kids have an opportunity to watch major D-1 teams on TV in the years to come and tell their friends, ‘Hey look, I got to play with that guy or against that guy.’ ”
Tshiebwe is a 5-star center and McDonald’s All-American, the Mountaineers highest-rated recruit since Devin Ebanks in 2008. McBride is a 3-star point guard from Cincinnati.
“It’ll be a great experience playing with players of that caliber and getting to have the chance to see what it’s like to play with a 5-star recruit,” Bucklew said.
Garrett College (Md.) and Penn State-Fayette are schools Bucklew visited, though he may have more planned further south in the Carolinas.
Tickets are $8 at the door but tickets may be bought ahead of time at the Little General Store on Van Voorhis Road.
