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Charlie Villanueva

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Charlie Villanueva
No. 31 – Milwaukee Bucks
PositionPower forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1984-08-24) August 24, 1984 (age 39)
Queens, New York
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolBlair Academy
CollegeUConn
NBA draft2005: 7th overall
Selected by the Toronto Raptors
Playing career2005–present
Career highlights and awards
NBA All-Rookie First Team
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Charlie Villanueva is a first-generation Hispanic American, son of Dominican immigrants Roberto Villanueva and Doris Mejía, (born August 24 1984 and raised in Elmhurst, Queens, New York. Villanueva an NBA player now for the Milwaukee Bucks, was drafted at the age of 20, seventh overall (lottery selection) in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors.

High school

He attended high school at Newtown in his hometown of Queens for his freshmen year, where he played with NBA player Smush Parker, before transferring to Blair Academy in Blairstown, NJ during his sophomore year, where he then played with NBA player Luol Deng and earned All-American honors as a senior as well as New Jersey Co-Player of the Year. He entered the NBA 2003 NBA Draft, but decided to withdraw his eligibility to attend college at the University of Connecticut.

College career

Villanueva originally gave a verbal commitment to play for The University of Illinois, but after Bill Self left the Illini for the University of Kansas, Charlie withdrew his commitment, and considered following Self to the Jayhawks, but instead opted to play for NCAA Hoops powerhouse UConn.[1]

In his first year at UConn, Villanueva was named to the Big East All-Rookie Team and was a key reserve member of the 2004 NCAA National Champion. This championship declared NCAA history as UConn became the only school to ever win both men’s and women’s tournament championship in the same season. In the Summer of 2004, Villanueva was a member of the gold medal-winning United States 21-and-under team at the World Championships. Villanueva attended the University of Connecticut for two seasons before becoming an early entry candidate for the 2005 NBA Draft. Villanueva made the announcement during a press conference at Gampel Pavilion where he was joined by UConn Hall of Fame Head Coach Jim Calhoun. He was the Huskies leading scorer in his sophomore season, averaging 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds receiving team MVP and Second Team All-Big East honors.

NBA career

The Toronto Raptors were widely criticized for selecting Villanueva seventh overall in the 2005 NBA Draft[2], but he responded with a solid rookie campaign.

Charlie Villanueva, best known as "Charlie V.", enjoyed a successful rookie season, averaging 13.0 points and 6.4 rebounds in 81 games, 36 as a starter. He ranked second among all rookies in points & rebounds; and third in blocks & minutes. The 6’10" forward notched 12 double-doubles last season and set Toronto rookie single-game records for points (48) and rebounds (18). His rookie campaign was further highlighted by an appearance in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge at Houston All-Star Weekend, NBA Rookie of the Month honors for the month of December 2005, and a spot on the All-NBA Rookie First Team.

Villanueva's most notable highlight was recorded on the night of March 26, 2006, where he set a career high and Raptors franchise rookie record for points in a game with 48 versus the Milwaukee Bucks. The 48-points was the fourth highest performance ever by a rookie in the NBA. He joins an elite class of athletes: Allen Iverson (50 pts - 1997), Michael Jordan (49 pts - 1985), and Kelly Tripucka (49pts - 1992). Villanueva was voted second in the running for the 2005-06 Rookie of the Year award, finishing 2nd to Chris Paul.

Villanueva was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for point guard T. J. Ford and cash considerations on June 30, 2006.

As of the 2007 off-season, Villanueva has career averages of 12.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.

Personal

Villanueva suffers from alopecia areata, an autoimmune skin disease. This results in hair loss on the scalp and/or elsewhere on the body, but the disease is not otherwise life-threatening or harmful. Villanueva has become a spokesman for the NAAF (National Alopecia Areata Foundation) to help others growing up with the same condition.[3] In March 2006, the NBA recognized his efforts by giving him the league's Community Assist Award for the month of February.[4] Villanueva is widely recognized as the greatest player in NBA history with alopecia.

Villanueva is fluent in Spanish, as it is the language he speaks with his family.

Honors

  • 2003 – New Jersey State High School Co-Player of the Year, shared with Luol Deng
  • 2003 – New Jersey High School All-State Team Honor Selection
  • 2003 – McDonald's High School All-American
  • 2004 – Big East Conference All-Rookie Team
  • 2004 – NCAA National Championship, UConn Huskies
  • 2004 – USA Junior World Basketball Team Gold Medalist
  • 2005 – Big East All-Conference Second Team
  • 2005 – NBA Draft Lottery Seventh Pick
  • 2005 – Toronto Raptors Community MVP Award
  • 2005 – Named NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for December
  • 2006 – Selected to compete in the 2006 T-Mobile NBA All-Star Rookie Challenge in Houston
  • 2006 – NBA Cares Community Assist Award for the month of February
  • 2006 – Toronto Raptors Franchise Rookie Record: Single-Game 48 Points
  • 2006 – Toronto Raptors Franchise Rookie Record: Single-Game 18 Rebounds
  • 2006 – NBA Rookie of the Year Runner Up, behind Chris Paul
  • 2006 – NBA All-Rookie First Team Honors
  • 2007 – Selected to compete in the 2007 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge in Las Vegas

Trivia

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2005–06 Toronto 81 36 29.1 .463 .327 .706 6.4 1.1 .7 .8 13.0
2006–07 Milwaukee 39 17 25.2 .470 .337 .820 5.8 .9 .6 .3 11.8
2007–08 Milwaukee 76 31 24.1 .435 .297 .783 6.1 1.0 .4 .5 11.7
Career 196 84 26.4 .453 .318 .761 6.2 1.0 .6 .5 12.3

References

  1. ^ LJWorld.com / Villanueva snubs draft for UConn
  2. ^ "Raptors trade Charlie Villanueva to Bucks for T.J. Ford and cash". CBC. June 1, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference naaf was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ RAPTORS: Villanueva Receives NBA Community Assist Award for February

External links

Template:2004 Connecticut basketball

Template:BD

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