Aliquippa High School basketball star Herb Pope underwent surgery yesterday at UPMC Presbyterian after being shot four times at an early morning party in Beaver County.

	Peter Diana, Post-Gazette
	Aliquippa's Herb Pope

Teammates and a coach who visited Mr. Pope, 18, yesterday afternoon said he was alert and talking after the surgery.

"His spirits were pretty good," said teammate Antonio Reddic.

"The doctors said he should be OK," said J.O. Stright, Mr. Pope's coach with the Pittsburgh JOTS AAU basketball team, "It was encouraging. He carried on a conversation with me."

No arrests have been made.

The shooting left the basketball future of Mr. Pope, a highly recruited Parade magazine all-American, in question because one of the gunshot wounds was to his left arm. Aliquippa Police Chief Ralph Pallante said Mr. Pope also was shot twice in the abdomen and once in the thigh.

"From what the doctors said, his arm is going to be the biggest problem with him playing again," Mr. Stright said.

Mr. Pope, a senior, was supposed to leave for Chicago yesterday to begin practicing for Tuesday's Sonny Vaccaro Roundball Classic, an all-star game featuring many of the top high school players in the country.

Chief Pallante said Mr. Pope walked into Aliquippa Hospital's emergency room early yesterday after someone, whom he did not name, dropped him off and left. Mr. Pope was stabilized and then taken to UPMC.

"He stated that he was at a party at that 800 block of 8th Avenue and someone had shot him," Chief Pallante said. "He did not know who, did not know why."

"He just said somebody did it for no reason," Mr. Reddic said. "I'm not sure of the whole story."

Chief Pallante said Mr. Pope did not say whether he was indoors or out at the time of the shooting.

Before receiving a call about the gunshot, police were called about a man lying in the street in the same area as the party, the chief said. The man was identified as Tremaine Foster, 20, who also attended the party. He was not injured.

Chief Pallante said Beaver County and Aliquippa detectives are "trying to gather information about who was there [at the party] that they can speak with."

Investigators hope to speak with Mr. Pope either today or tomorrow.

Schenley High School basketball players DeJuan Blair and D.J. Kennedy also visited Mr. Pope for about 10 minutes yesterday morning, but didn't talk to him. They were Mr. Pope's teammates on the JOTS AAU team and Mr. Blair is a close friend of Mr. Pope's.

"I really can't explain what I'm feeling. It brings a tear to my eye just thinking about him," Mr. Blair said.

"He opened his eyes and I think he saw me," Mr. Blair said. "I just told him, 'I'm here for you. I love you, man.' "

Mr. Pope is considered one of the most talented big players from Western Pennsylvania in years. A 6-foot-9 forward, he was the Post-Gazette Player of the Year in 2006.

This season, he averaged 19 points, 11 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.3 blocks and 3.3 steals a game in helping Aliquippa win its second consecutive WPIAL Class AA championship. Aliquippa lost in the PIAA championship last Saturday to Philadelphia Prep Charter.

Mr. Pope finished his career with 1,568 points. He was recruited by many major colleges before signing last November with New Mexico State University, which made the NCAA tournament this season.

But the shooting is another chapter in what has been an unstable life off the court for Mr. Pope. He has lived with many different guardians and family members over the years. The past two summers, he visited Arlington Country Day School in Jacksonville, Fla., only to return to Aliquippa for classes.

He attended Aliquippa schools through fourth grade. He then lived in the Beaver Falls district from fifth to eighth grade. In eighth grade, he attended Beaver Junior High, before attending basketball power Montrose Academy in Rockville, Md., for his freshman year.

At the beginning of his sophomore year, he enrolled at Hopewell before transferring to Aliquippa a few months later.

At Hopewell, he lived with the family of Dan Costo, who was a Hopewell player. At Aliquippa, he has lived with his grandmother and most recently with an aunt.

Mr. Blair, the Schenley star, said, "I know he can come back from this."