Charlie Villanueva was one of the top-ranked prospects in the nation in 2003 and a number of colleges were interested in having him onboard. On the Run Your Race podcast, Villanueva revealed how the University of Illinois recruited him.
“My first visit was to Illinois University,” Villanueva said. “I loved it, loved it off the bat. First of all, I’m 17 years old, they picking me up in a private jet. I ain’t never been in a private jet in my life… So I get on campus, they got five girls with Charlie’s Angels shirts on them following me wherever I go.”
Villanueva was, of course, impressed by all of it. Imagine if you were a 17-year-old and this big university was basically rolling out the red carpet for you.
Despite liking what he saw, Villanueva only verbally committed to Illinois, as he had heard rumors that their head coach Bill Self might leave for the University of Kansas. Villanueva wanted to play under Self and was going to follow him if he did leave.
Self did eventually go to Kansas so Villanueva withdrew his commitment to Illinois and took a visit to KU. That very day, though, a tornado hit the area and a New York kid like him did not want to be in a place like that. He eventually decided to go to UConn, as they were the number one ranked team in the preseason.
Going to UConn certainly worked out for Villanueva. He won a national championship there in 2004 and then in his sophomore season, was voted team MVP.
Following that season, Villanueva declared for the 2005 NBA Draft. While he had talent, there were some questions regarding his work ethic and he was viewed as a boom or bust prospect.
The Toronto Raptors decided to take a chance on Villanueva and selected him with the seventh pick of the draft. He proved his doubters wrong by averaging 13.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game in 2005-06, and ended up finishing runner-up to Chris Paul for Rookie of the Year.
Villanueva was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks after that rookie campaign. He would go on to have his best season as a pro with them in 2008-09, averaging 16.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game.
Following that campaign, Villanueva hit free agency and received a five-year $37.7 million deal from the Detroit Pistons. He never quite lived up to expectations with the Pistons, however, and giving him that deal was seen as a huge mistake as time went by.
Villanueva’s final pitstop in the NBA would be with the Dallas Mavericks, as he signed with them in 2014. He spent two seasons with the franchise, after which he retired in 2016. Villanueva finished his NBA career with averages of 10.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
