FROM WALK-ON, TO PROJECT, TO STARRING ROLE.

Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE LOCAL

Sometimes it's not all about the money.

Every once in a while, a major leaguer will give a team a hometown discount or sign with a contender for a few million less to have a shot at a championship ring. Then they're subsequently lauded for their priorities and love of the game.

David Estrada was never weighing million-dollar offers. All he had in front of him after he scored 66 goals (No. 2 nationally) as a senior at Alisal High in Salinas last spring were scholarship offers from San Jose State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

At a state university nowadays, that's worth about $9,000 a year. He didn't want any part of it.

``I didn't think they'd take me where I wanted to be,'' Estrada said plainly. ``I want to go to the next level. I wanted to challenge myself and see where I stood against the best.''

So he put the scholarship offers in a drawer, convinced his family he wasn't making a huge mistake and walked on at UCLA, one of the premier men's soccer programs in the country, in a year when the Bruins had signed the best recruiting class in the country.

``They had the best class and I wanted to see where I stacked up with them,'' he said. ``In high school, we didn't have much competition. The only tests we got were in the playoffs. And I just felt like if everything was given to me, I wouldn't be motivated enough and I wouldn't get to the next level.

``I came here where nothing is expected of me and I had to prove myself.''

The word you're searching for is guts.

In the early days of fall practice, it was very clear to Estrada where he ranked among the highly touted freshman class. The game was faster than he'd ever played. He couldn't dribble through three defenders like he had so easily in high school. He couldn't see three plays down the line like his teammates.

He figured this would be a learning year. He'd work hard in practice, improve his skills and play next year.

But less than a month into the season, the Bruins forwards started dropping like flies. Freshman forward Robert Georgiefski tore his left ACL and medial meniscus in an exhibition game. Leading scorer Maxwell Griffin tore his left ACL three minutes into a game at California on Sept. 22. Midfielder Tony Beltran went down with an ankle injury about 20 minutes later.

All of a sudden, Estrada was one of the only forwards still standing. Physically and strategically, he wasn't ready. He still dribbled too much, played too slow and stood around waiting for the ball too much. So he got by on guts.

Thirteen games later, he's the Bruins' leading scorer. He scored 21of his 23 points in the past 11games and UCLA has ridden his hot right foot all the way to the NCAA quarterfinals. The Bruins play top-seeded Duke this afternoon in Durham, N.C.

``He is the true definition of a diamond in the rough,'' UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo said. ``In the beginning, he was kind of overwhelmed and we thought he'd be a bit of a project. ... He's turned out to be a heck of a project, huh?''

The Bruins have a long history of successful walk-ons. Longtime U.S. national team star Cobi Jones was a walk-on at UCLA. So was national team defensive star Jimmy Conrad, German Bundesliga player Benny Feilhaber and the No. 1 pick in the 2000 MLS Draft, Steve Shak.

Estrada could soon follow in those footsteps. Coaches and scouts from MLS clubs have been coming out to watch him in recent weeks.

``The coach of the under-20 national team is calling me about him. The MLS clubs like him. They come out to our games and ask me how many years left before he comes out,'' Salcedo says. ``David is just a savvy, savvy goal-scorer and he's got the heart of a champion.''

And the guts.

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Photo:

UCLA freshman walk-on David Estrada, center, has scored 21 of his team-leading 23 points in the past 11 games.

Courtesy of UCLA

Box:

NCAA QUARTERFINALS