Ex-hoops phenom who cheated death now faces armed robbery charge
In 2012, former Seton Hall men's basketball player Herb Pope was in the running for Big East player of the year. In 2016, things are much different for the 27-year-old.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pope is being charged in connection to an armed bank robbery committed in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, earlier this month:
Mr. Pope, 27, of Aliquippa, is charged with robbery, conspiracy, reckless endangerment and a firearms violation in the armed robbery at Sewickley Savings Bank in February.
At a preliminary hearing held Tuesday before Magisterial District Judge Robert L. Ford, Mr. Pope was held for court on all charges.
Like too many who flitted across the sports spotlight only to disappear from the public consciousness just as quickly, Pope's story features far too many low points; this is only the most recent. His parents reportedly abandoned Pope whe he was nine years old, leaving him to fend for himself on couches and in foster care until family finally took him in.
The 6-foot-8 forward, who started his college basketball career at New Mexico State, almost never made it to Seton Hall, despite being mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Kevin Love and O.J. Mayo as a prep star. In March 2007, Pope was shot five times, saved only by a passing motorist who rushed him to the hospital. Two of the bullets from the .22 revolver used against Pope remained lodged in his body even after surgery and therapy to recover from his injuries.
In 2010, Pope once again faced death -- to the point that Seton Hall had prepared a press release announcing his tragic passing after he was found unconscious in a stairwell, the victim of an undiagnosed birth defect that caused an anomaly in his heart.
Still, Pope persevered. He worked his way back to the court, taking the necessary precautions with his newly discovered medical condition. By the 2011-12 season, Pope averaged 15.1 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 31.4 minutes for Seton Hall.
It wasn't enough. Pope declared for the 2012 NBA draft but went undrafted before opting to sign with a basketball team in Israel. His time there ended abruptly, however, and in 2013, Pope was charged with wielding a firearm against a bar owner. According to that report, Pope was also arrested for DUI in 2012.
From there, Pope fell off the radar -- until this week, when reports surfaced of his arrest for the aforementioned robbery, in which more than $3,500 was allegedly stolen. According to the police report, Pope and his accomplice fled the scene in a gold BMW.
In a different life, Pope and that BMW would have a far happier story to tell. Instead, one of Pennsylvania's best ever basketball prospects is back in the public eye for all the wrong reasons.
