Basketball: Van Nuys picks up pieces after Rudd, Hankins transfers

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Well, it appears as if things are official. The rumors are true. Victor Rudd and Willie Hankins have transferred from Van Nuys and enrolled at Las Vegas’ Findlay Prep. For those who don’t believe me, click here for additional proof and you’ll find the names of both kids on the Pilots’ roster.

About 10 days ago, this story broke, indicating plans might be in the works for a move. At that point, I tried to get ahold of Van Nuys Coach Charles White to confirm the news about Rudd and Hankins, but was unsuccessful. Not surprisingly, my attempts to reach him again this afternoon failed.

That leads me to believe White isn’t completely happy about the whole situation. And if anyone can relate to him, it’s Sylmar Coach Bort Escoto. See, he went through the same thing back in January when Rudd and Hankins left the Spartans and were finally ruled eligible to play for the Wolves.

‘I’ve told Charles that his program is going to end up being just fine,’’ Escoto said. ‘Don’t get me wrong, both Victor and Willie are good kids, those two were never the problem. There’s just a lot of things going on around them, a lot of people telling them what they should do. It’s unfortunate.’’

With Rudd and Hankins, Van Nuys had a realistic chance to win the Sunset Six League title this coming season, perhaps compete with schools such as Fairfax, Taft and Westchester in the City Section playoffs. Without the tandem, the outlook isn’t very promising for the Wolves.

-- Sean Ceglinsky