Plenty of intrigue surrounds the 2004 Butler Christmas Basketball Tournament.

The event is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday at the Butler High School gym and features four-team boys and girls competition.

It also features the following:

The Golden Tornado boys and girls teams trying to build momentum from narrow section wins over Shaler last week.

Butler's girls taking on Knoch in a rare game between the neighboring schools.

The appearance of Aliquippa sophomore Herb Pope, a 6-foot-10 forward considered one of the top 20 prep sophomores in the country.

"That kid is the real deal," Butler boys coach Joe Lewandowski said. "He can shoot and handle the basketball extremely well.

"Division I schools are already following him. A friend of mine in the Louisville program has talked to me about him."

North Carolina is considering Pope as a recruit down the road as well.

But he might never get that far.

"People I know in the game tell me they doubt he'll ever go to college," Lewandowski said. "He's a candidate for the NBA right out of high school."

Pope transferred to Aliquippa this season from Hopewell and the WPIAL upheld his eligibility. He is with his fourth school in 20 months, having played for perennial power Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Md., last year.

"We saw Aliquippa over the summer," Lewandowski said. "They were a great team even without him."

Aliquippa is riding a four-game winning streak into the tournament and has defeated its last three opponents - Rochester, New Brighton and Freedom - by an average margin of 36 points.

Butler will get an up-close and personal look at Pope and the Quips when the teams meet at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday. Because Fox Chapel, like Butler a member of Section 3-AAAA, is in the tournament, the Golden Tornado will not play the Foxes during this event.

Butler will face a Burrell team in the first round that's dropped three in a row.

"The trend in high school basketball now is to put five guards on the floor, get the ball and go," Lewandowski said. "Burrell likes to do that. We like to play inside out. It will be a battle of contrasting styles."

The Tornado girls hope to be healthy Tuesday when they face Knoch (6-2) at 6 p.m. The Knights have won six of their last seven and are coming off their first WPIAL playoff appearance in 18 years.

"There are some great programs in this tournament and that's why we're excited about getting into it," Knoch coach Curt Vasas said."

Vasas pointed to Tornado senior point guard Kelly Miller and sophomore center Amy Achesinski as "two girls we definitely can't let loose.

"But we have confidence in our point guard Nicole Reiser and center Jen Robinson, too," Vasas said. "And both teams have plenty of other good players."

Butler survived Shaler, 43-38, last week while playing without starters Achesinski (flu) and Maria Baroffio (concussion). Both should be available for the tournament.

"We're playing at home and we want to win it," Butler coach Dorothea Epps said. "We especially want to build some momentum and get on a roll leading into January.

"Knoch is a very good program. I know they're Triple-A and we're Quad-A, but I don't put much stock in that stuff. A good team is a good team."

The other first-round girls match-up pits Franklin Regional, winner of four of its last five, against Blackhawk, which has dropped three of four.

A 3-point shooting contest will take place at halftime of each game. Admission to each day of the tournament is $4 for adults and $2 for students.

Notes:

Blackhawk's girls have played in the tournament every year since the girls portion was added in 2000. … 1997 tournament MVP Aaron Epps is the son of the Butler girls coach and one of her assistant coaches. … 1998 tournament MVP Bill Johnson of Woodland Hills is a senior guard at Slippery Rock University.

BUTLER TOURNEY SCHEDULE

---

TuesdayGirls:Franklin Regional (6-3) vs. Blackhawk (4-5), 2:30 p.m.Girls:Butler (6-5) vs. Knoch (6-2), 4:15 p.m.Boys:Aliquippa (5-3) vs. Fox Chapel (4-6), 6 p.m.Boys:Butler (5-4) vs. Burrell (5-4), 7:45 p.m.

WednesdayGirls:Consolation game, 2:30 p.m.Boys:Fox Chapel vs. Burrell, 4:15 p.m.Girls:Championship game, 6 p.m.Boys:Butler vs. Aliquippa, 7:45 p.m.