I have backed a bunch of oak boards for folk with hickory, some hickory backed hickory, backed about 50 osage staves with bamboo, questionable wood, very tight rings and more early wood than late wood, all made great bows with a strip of added bamboo.
If you have a questionable stave you want to salvage, flatten the back and back it. Like Pat said, a good stave is better off staying a stave.