The Drake Still Loved, Pope Plays, Parmeter Story Not As Good Feely As Before

There were some interesting developments in a few stories I recently posted on, so let's update.

First, I continue to Loooooveee The Drake as the Bulldogs won the Valley battle of the unbeatens Saturday, topping Illinois State 79-73 at home. The Drake has first place all to themselves now. They won this one without Valley leading score Josh Young again, and were led by Adam Emmenecker, he of the buzzer-beater against Bradley and mid-major poster boy story (former walk-on, white, named Emmenecker). The real test for The Drake comes tomorrow night though, as they travel to Creighton, a team I found to be mighty impressive when it won at Northern Iowa on ESPN last week.

Second, in a sign that the hoops gods are certainly looking down upon this humble, albeit shallow, sports blog, the day I posted the first Drake item (linked above), they actually played The Drake episode of Seinfeld on FOX that night. The Drake, team of destiny.

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My boy Herb Pope finally played Saturday after being involved in all sorts of craziness. Haven't seen highlights because, you know, he plays for New Mexico State, but he had five points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes, getting off nine shots in the process. In a sign of just how versatile the 6-8 forward's floor game is, he also had four assists and six turnovers [REDACTED]. My obsession with Pope is well-documented and I suppose it has more to do with his flaws than his game, but in all seriousness, it's good to see this kid actually get on the court. There have been many players before him who have been through shit half as bad and screwed up half as much and let it completely derail their careers. Let's hope basketball will phase all the other crap out for Pope. And this weekend, hoops fan will get their first, and maybe only, look at Pope as the Aggies play Utah State Saturday, 6 p.m. on ESPN2. It will also be a battle of the top two teams in the WAC right now, for those of you more interested in that hotly-contested race.

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And finally, a weird update to Gary Parrish's outstanding story on Eastern Arizona head coach Tim Parmeter, which I posted on last week. Parmeter was coaching through an awful tragedy where his ex-wife committed a murder-suicide with his infant child. Well, he's not coaching anymore and it has nothing to do with grief. Parrish posted an update this morning, writing that Parmeter had been fired after being accused of having a relationship with a student at the junior college and that she might not have been of consenting age when the relationship began. There's an investigation into the case and everyone, including Parmeter, did that thing where they say they want to comment, even though they don't, but they can't because of legal issues. Not sure what to make of this and it's obviously all accusations right now, but if you've read Parrish's original story, this is certainly tough to see.

Where In The World Is Herb Pope? Coming To A Court Near You

A little while back I took a look at the situation of New Mexico State freshman forward Herb Pope, a kid with a terrible past but unbelievable talent. I've been especially interested in Pope because he is the exact type of player I love to watch, a versatile forward with a smooth, inside-outside game and great athleticism. But it's that past and the struggle to overcome it that provides an added element. There are certainly talented players from bad neighborhoods, but the extremes of Pope's story and his talent made him stick out.

Anyway, in that piece I said that Pope would get his act together in Cruces, far away from his hometown of Alquippia, PA, and even though he wasn't cleared by the NCAA to play yet, that simply being in college could be a life-changing experience. Well, I may have misspoken. Pope headed back home for Christmas and got a DUI. He is 19, don't forget, so that is a bit of a problem. Apparently he passed out in a traffic lane with the car running, a fairly impressive DUI indeed.

Officers found the 19-year-old Pope unresponsive in the driver's seat with the engine running in the Pittsburgh suburb of Moon Township on Dec. 28.

According to the criminal complaint, police had to pound on the driver's side window with a flashlight and turn on a cruiser's siren to awaken Pope. The car then lurched forward, bumping into the police cruiser, and an officer then smashed the driver's side window with a flashlight and turned off the ignition.

And while that seemed to mark the end of Pope's season, miraculously he was cleared by the NCAA and (holds breath), after serving a one-game suspension for the DUI (served Saturday's game I believe), could play this weekend against Louisiana Tech.

Clearly Pope's troubled past is more influential now than I had expected. It's worth noting that the DUI happened back in his hometown, a place that obviously has a negative effect on Pope, so his decision to go to New Mexico State is still an honorable one. But at some point a kid has to realize the amazing opportunity he has been given and do everything in his power to take full advantage of it. Maybe the fact that, as he was waiting for eligibility, he didn't have basketball to serve as a distraction and couldn't fully appreciate the chance he was getting, but now that the game is back in his life, there aren't going to be second chances. Yes, in the twisted world of college basketball, talent can grant immunity in the face of the law, the education system and the judicial system, but at some point that talent will run out. So it's on Pope, and certainly on the Aggies' coaching staff which is supposed to be molding these young men, to use that talent to become a better person first, and a better player second.

His lone TV game is January 26, 6 p.m., home against Utah State on ESPN2 and I am excited to watch because, even though he's been shot and hasn't played a game in nine months, Herb Pope is an absolutely sick player. Now whether he can get to Jan. 26 without screwing up is another story.

Where In the World Is Herb Pope?

For those of you not in the know, there is one elite freshman out there who's not yet reported to the Domination Station that is the 2007-2008 season. Herb Pope, a top 25 recruit out of Western PA, was supposed to be a key contributor for a New Mexico State team that wasn't supposed to suck so much. Pope is a guy I touted highly coming into this season, claiming he had more raw talent than any player in the WAC. I said he was the best non-BCS freshman besides Derrick Rose and was the No. 9 freshman in the whole country preseason. I claimed he would outperform Kyle Singler in a Nov. 12 showdown with Duke that I predicted the Aggies would win. They lost by 25, are now 4-7 and Duke might be the best team in the country. I still believe all of that was possible, but my words have not yet had a chance to be vindicated because Pope hasn't played a game yet, due to eligibility issues.

Before we get to the present, you have to look at Pope's amazing past. A 6-8 forward with the floor skills of a guard, Pope had NBA written all over him in high school. He could shoot threes effortlessly, jump out of the gym and had post moves that were beyond his years. He was mentioned directly after guys like Mayo, Love and Rose as one of the top prospects of this class. He committed to his hometown school, Pitt, after his sophomore season and seemed destined for Big East dominance. But off the court, Pope's life was far from easy. He lived in a bad neighborhood. The problems he faced in the hood often spilled onto the court as he consistently got in trouble for brash behavior. But by all accounts Pope was just misunderstood. He did well in school, realized the ill effects of his neighborhood and tried his best to make an informed decision on where to go to college. He decided to go to New Mexico State over Oklahoma, Maryland and Texas, but not for reasons that had anything to do with basketball. He committed to Las Cruces because it was the farthest thing away from Alquippa. No one could find him there.

(This NY Times feature, also linked above, on Pope is absolutely outstanding).

But just days before he was to play in the '07 Roundball Classic in Chicago, he was shot at a party in his hometown. He narrowly escaped long term injuries, but soon had a new decision to make. Reggie Theus had taken a job with the Sacramento Kings and Pope was without a coach. The Aggies promoted assistant Marvin Menzies and Pope eventually decided to stay, deciding the distance from his home was the most important factor. He rehabbed all summer to get ready for the season and was all set to make a Beasley-ian impact.

As if the kid hadn't been through enough, as if his past hadn't haunted him the entirety of his short life, after he nearly lost his life, he lost basketball as well. Just days before the season began, Pope's eligibility was put under review because of one class he took in high school. It was expected to be resolved quickly, perhaps in time for that Duke game, but the case is still lingering. Word is that if the issue isn't resolved soon, Pope may just redshirt this season.

I'm not going to pretend to know the details of the eligibility situation. Some people will be angry that it isn't resolved, others will say the kid is just bad news, but, honestly, there isn't a lot of new information out there. And that's part of the reason I did this post; to shed light on a freshman talent that hasn't sniffed the spotlight that much-fawned recruits like Beasley, Rose, Gordon, Love and Mayo bask beneath. For what Pope has been through, shouldn't this be his chance to finally make it known what he can do on the court, rather than be defined by what happened off of it? Wasn't that the whole point of leaving Alquippa, to make The Herb Pope Story about basketball again?

Selfishly, I want to see Herb Pope play, so an amazing talent doesn't get undeservedly lost in the shuffle as another troubled prospect who couldn't escape his past no matter how hard he tried. As a basketball fan who knows how rare a player like Pope can be, I say, forget the high school class, the kid needs to play. But I've got to think that although basketball would be a great diversion for a kid trying to forget all the struggles he's already had to endure, Pope might not be in as big a hurry as I am. I think Pope can take solace in the fact that he's actually in college. That's more than his neighbors, his detractors and, most importantly, the thugs who shot him can say (those scumbags are in prison, for awhile). And while the stud freshmen enjoy the attention and make plans to leave programs that were turned upside down just to have them, I doubt Herb Pope -- a kid who has every reason to be selfish, arrogant and downright angry at the way his career has unfolded -- wants to go anywhere. After all, basketball will always be there, peace of mind may not.