Fordham continues St. Anthonys pipeline

Fordham University is building a program with players that are well prepared and college ready. The Atlantic 10 school landed another underclassman that fits the bill. Alberto Estwick of St. Anthony's picked Fordham over the weekend and the 6-foot-3 guard could be a fine sleeper in the league down the road.

"They offered me a four-year scholarship and there is an opportunity for me to get a lot of playing time if I earn it there," Estwick said. "The academics are good there. They have a good business program and that is something that I'll probably be studying. The campus is nice and it isn't too far from my home but far enough. Plus, it's one of the few campuses around here that has grass."

Estwick joins his high school teammate Jiovanny Fontan in Fordham's 2008 recruiting class. Fontan committed in late March. Estwick said he is looking forward to continuing his career with his backcourt mate at the next level.

"Me and Jio are really close friends and we motivate each other. When you get to college, the coaches motivate you but we really motivate each other really well. We work well together. Plus, we are coming from a winning program and we want to help make Fordham even better than it is."

Estwick, a Brooklyn native, may not have the same kind of national notoriety as his teammates at St. Anthony's both those close to the program say the shooting guard has great upside and could be major player for the Rams.

"I started playing ball really late and Coach Hurley said I'm a player that is still developing as a player," Estwick said. "Coach said I just keep getting better and better and I can still do that if I stay hungry and keep working on getting better. That is what I want to do.

"It helps a lot playing with all of (the other Division guards at St. Anthony's). Our guard systems are all Division I plays and it helps us a lot on defense. You have stay quick and move your feet. You really have to remember the plays so you can stay fresh."