Seton Hall big man Herb Pope and Jets Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis grew up together in Aliquippa, Pa., bonded by the dangerous streets of a gritty city of which Revis once said, “You either get out of Aliquippa or you wind up dead or on drugs.”
Pope surely seemed headed toward one of those fates, if not both.
After a youth spent in foster homes, thanks to an addict father with a two-decade-long rap sheet and a mother who’d been in and out of jail, Pope got shot five times — four at close range — and was found asleep at the wheel of his car, arrested for DUI. But the Pope of today paints a far brighter picture, having emerged as one of the Big East’s best big men coming into tonight’s game at No. 13 Connecticut.
“I know football and basketball are two different sports. I played a little bit in high school, had a couple of scholarships to play basketball. But one thing I told him was just having that heart, going out there and getting the grades, making sure you stay out of trouble, man; do something,” Revis told The Post. “You can do something to change your life and your family’s life.
“I’ve been on him since he’s been up here. He’s probably like 10 minutes away from me at Seton Hall, so it’s just something that you’ve got to keep on him. You can’t give up on kids; you’ve just got to keep on putting it in their brain because one day it might click in their head and they’re like ‘OK,’ and it sticks to them.”
With Revis, 24, headed to the playoffs for Saturday’s AFC wild-card playoff game in Cincinnati, Pope, 21 this week, is following in his mentor’s straight-and-narrow footsteps. With a young daughter giving him a reason to live, and Revis nearby to give him guidance when needed and a kick in the pants when necessary, Pope has his life in order.
“Everybody knows everybody in Aliquippa; it’s a small town. You can end up playing football with anybody. I know his family, he knows mine. I know some of his family members that’s older than him,” said Revis, who has taken Pope under wing. So has former Knick Charles Smith, who invited Pope to Thanksgiving dinner.
If it takes a village to raise a child, Pope’s adopted village is doing a good job. Eligible this year after transferring, he was averaging 13.0 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks, leading the Bie East in boards and fourth in rejections.
“Darrell Revis is one of his best friends in life. That’s been huge, lucky for us, ironic thing that he sees him, talks to him,” Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said. “They’re both from Aliquippa, he tells him, ‘Herb, don’t go back home, stay out of there.’ It’s been a good thing for him.”
It’s dangerous because Pope testified against the young men who shot him — men both he and Revis actually knew — and has had his life threatened by others seeking vengeance. But Pope’s greatest revenge on them may be living life right and reaping the rewards his basketball talents may bring him.
“He’s come a long way,” Gonzalez said. “Herb knows this is the big stage. When he sat out last year and saw his buddies DaJuan Blair and Sam Young and these guys from Pittsburgh, he realized, ‘Holy cow these guys are going to get drafted, make money. They came up with me; they weren’t that much better than me.’
“Then he goes and sees Revis has a beautiful house, he sees Charles Smith has a great family, and it hit him, like, ‘Wow. I can have that too.’ ”