Sept. 22, 2006

PITTSBURGH (AP) -DUQUESNE University forward Sam Ashaolu, one of five men's basketball players shot at a campus dance, was upgraded from critical to serious condition Friday.

Family members said Ashaolu, sedated for much of the week, asked about two of his brothers - the first words he is known to have spoken since being shot.

Ashaolu was the most badly injured player, taking two bullets - one of which splintered - to the head early Sunday.

Coach Ron Everhart, elated by Ashaolu's progress, said the 23-year-old was no longer on a ventilator.

He cannot talk yet, and the exact nature of his injuries and his prognosis for recovery are not yet known. The bullet fragments remain because it would be much too risky to try to remove them due to the severe swelling from the wounds.

Ashaolu, Shawn James, Aaron Jackson, Kojo Mensah and Stuard Baldonado were shot at the dance Saturday night. Baldonado, shot in the back and left arm, remains hospitalized. He had a bullet removed from a patch of muscle just below the skin in his back, has begun his rehabilitation and is expected to be released from Mercy Hospital within a few days.