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Bronx, N.Y. (April 9, 2014) – Members of the Fordham University men's basketball program spent their "off" day traveling up Fordham Road to the Academy for Personal Leadership and Excellence, a middle school in the Bronx, where they spoke with the students on the importance of education as part of the National Association of Basketball Coaches' (NABC) "Stay in to Win" Program on Wednesday.
 
Joining director of basketball operations Michael DePaoli at the school on Wednesday were Antwoine Anderson, Ryan Canty, Ryan Rhoomes, Bryan Smith and Manny Suarez.
 
The "Stay in to Win" program focuses on motivating and encouraging students, particularly those at risk of dropping out, to stay in school until graduation.  By delivering the message that success in education is fundamental to success in life, students will be enlightened as to the impact of decisions they make in school.
 
The Fordham contingent communicated the value of effective decision-making skills and the impact that academic, career, and personal decisions made now will have on their futures. They also gave the students examples of what is possible for them if they devote the necessary time and energy to studies.   
 
The meeting started with each player introducing himself to the audience and giving his GPA (all are above a 3.00).  When they were finished, DePaoli shared with the middle school students that the basketball team's GPA this past semester was 3.2, the highest team GPA for men's basketball in recent history. He also mentioned how all of the players on the stage were full scholarship student-athletes and how the Rams had to perform both on and off the court in order to qualify for a scholarship.
 Rhoomes was the first student-athlete to speak, urging the middle school students to stay in school in order to "stay in the game". He related his own experience growing up in Queens and how his grades weren't great during his freshman and sophomore years of high school and how that translated into his difficulty being recruited. He also spoke of how trying it was being forced to sit out a year before starting college. He related a story of two of his friends from high school, who both ended up in dire straits due to poor choices made in high school. "One of my friends dropped out of school and ending up selling drugs," Rhoomes told the group. "He's in jail now. Don't let that be you. Stay in school and work hard to be successful."
 
Anderson was next to address the audience, mentioning the importance of teamwork and using all of the tools available to them in order to flourish. He mention how he skated through his first two years of high school which caused his grades to slip and forced him to sit out his freshman year at Fordham.
 
"I waited until I was being recruited to start taking school seriously." Anderson said. "It wasn't until junior and senior year that I went to my teachers for help. Don't wait that long. Just like a team needs everyone to play together to be successful you need the help of everyone at school to be successful."
 
Suarez took the microphone and spoke of the importance of setting short and long term goals. He turned to his high school experience and how he decided early in high school that school wasn't as important as basketball which caused his grades to suffer and led to his having to sit out the 2013-2014 season at Fordham where he made it a goal to be eligible for next year.
 
"If I was going to attend college I needed a scholarship as my family couldn't afford it," said Suarez. "When I found out that my grades might prevent me from getting a scholarship I decided to devote more time to academics, especially this year at Fordham since I did not want to let my family and teammates down."
 
Smith took the microphone and spoke of the importance of making good decisions both on and off the court as they will ultimately determine your success. He spoke of making the decision not to study before class or not practice before a game and how that can affect performance and about the people who grew up with him who made poor life decisions.
 
"I grew up in Brooklyn and I see a lot of people I grew up involved in the wrong things," said Smith. "I go home and see them continue to do the wrong thing, like selling drugs, because of bad decisions they made when they were younger."
 Canty was the final Ram to speak, highlighting the importance of preparation and how it influences achievement. He spoke of his personal habits of preparing for practice, games and academics.
 
"The most important thing I do is to put in the work in practice and in study hall to be successful," said Canty. "It's the work you do before a game or before a test that will determine your success, so it's important to put in that extra effort."
 
DePaoli then shared with the middle school students the five rules that every Fordham men's basketball student-athletes must follow: 1) Sit in front three rows of the classroom, 2) Ask at least one question in each class, 3) Arrive at class at least five minutes early, 4) Do not wear hats or head phones to class and 5) Don't ever be late. He explained that by sitting up front, asking questions and arriving early you show the teacher that you are ready to be engaged and that you are there to learn.
 
DePaoli also imparted the importance of being committed to a goal and making that goal a priority so it becomes important.
 
Before a question and answer session, DePaoli offered the students one last piece of advice, relating to them a saying that is common among the basketball student-athletes at Fordham.
 
"We tell all our players that a dream without a plan is a wish," said DePaoli. "You have to have a plan and work hard to achieve your dream."