Charlie Villanueva - C.V.

Charlie Alexander Villanueva (born August 24, 1984) is an American NBA player for the Milwaukee Bucks. The 6'11" forward was drafted 7th overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 2005 NBA Draft.

Villanueva is the son of Dominican immigrants Roberto Villanueva and Doris Mejía. He was born in Queens, New York, and raised in Elmhurst, Queens, before moving to New Jersey and now resides in Queens, New York.

The Toronto Raptors were widely criticized for selecting Villanueva seventh overall in the 2005 NBA Draft, but he responded with a solid rookie campaign, ranking second among rookies with 13.0 ppg and 6.4 rpg. He was second in the voting for the 2005-06 Rookie of the Year Award and was selected to the 2005-06 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie First Team.

On March 26, 2006, Villanueva set a career high and Raptors rookie record for points in a game with 48 in a 116-125 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. His point total was the most by a rookie since Allen Iverson scored 50 in 1997.

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.

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. In his first year at UConn, Villanueva was named to the Big East All-Rookie Second Team and was a key reserve on the 2004 NCAA National Champion Connecticut Huskies team. As a sophomore, Villanueva was named second-team All-Big East after averaging 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

In the Summer of 2004, Villanueva was a member of the gold medal-winning United States 21 and under team at the World Championships.