Aliquippa’s Pope Addresses Transfer Rumors
by Chris Dokish

Contrary to rumors, Aliquippa junior basketball player Herb Pope has not transferred to a school in Jacksonville, Florida. The 6’8 ½” - 235 pound Pope is one of the top high school basketball players in the nation after this summer’s performance at the Reebok Camp in Teaneck, NJ skyrocketed him into the top 10 juniors in the country.

On an internet website that covers Florida high school basketball, it was reported that Pope was transferring from Aliquippa High School to Arlington Country Day School in Jacksonville, one of the best prep school basketball programs in the country. Not so fast, according to Pope.

“I am down here now,” says Pope, “because one of my AAU coaches asked me to check it out.”

Pope says he doesn’t want to make any decision on a possible transfer public until Monday since he is in the middle of a several-day visit there, but then added this caveat, “Print that we have unfinished business at Aliquippa. We want to go for the gold. We lost in triple overtime last year.”

Pope, who verbally committed to Pitt but can’t sign a binding letter of intent until November 2006, also talked about that commitment.

“I opened up my recruitment, I guess you can say. A college coach told me that the Pitt staff won’t be there by the time I’m there,” he said. “But Pitt is still No. 1. There is a 98.9% chance that I will sign with them. If the staff is there when it’s time for me to sign, I will definitely sign with them.”

Pope’s cousin is Tommie Campbell, who just completed a standout football and track career at Aliquippa. Campbell is currently a freshman football player at Pitt and Pope – who calls his cousin “a freak of nature” – said he plans to watch Campbell play this fall.

“I am going to the Pitt football game against Notre Dame,” said Pope. “I can’t wait. I’m going to all of the bowl games, too. ...Man, it would be great to have one family dominate at the same place in two different sports.”

Talking about Pitt’s basketball future, Pope says, “We have Sam Young coming in. He is great; I played against him in D.C. And we have Levance Fields, and Tyrell Biggs, and Levon Kendall is there.”