Charlie Villanueva

Charlie Alexander Villanueva (born August 24 1984 in Brooklyn, New York) is an NBA player for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Villanueva is a first-generation American, son of Dominican immigrants, Roberto Villanueva and Doris Mejia. He grew up in Queens before moving to New Jersey and resides in Brooklyn, which he calls home. A 6'10" (6'11" with shoes) power forward, he was drafted 7th overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 2005 NBA Draft.

High school

He attended high school at Blair Academy, with Chicago Bulls' Luol Deng, where he earned All-American honors as a senior as well as New Jersey Co-player of the Year. He originally entered the 2003 NBA Draft but decided to withdraw and attend college at the University of Connecticut.

College career

In his first year at UConn, Villanueva was named to the Big East All-Rookie Team and was a key reserve on the 2004 NCAA Men's Basketball National Champion Connecticut Huskies team. As a sophmore, 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.

NBA career

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 2005-2006 [http://basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_2006.html 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 is 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.

Personal

Villanueva suffers from an autoimmune skin disease called alopecia areata which affects 4.7 million Americans. This results in hair loss on his scalp and elsewhere on his 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. In March 2006, the NBA recognized his efforts by giving him the league's Community Assist Award for the month of February. ^*

Honors

2005 - Named NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for December
2006 - Selected to compete in the 2006 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge in Houston
2006 - All-NBA Rookie First Team

Trivia

His favorite NBA player is Tracy McGrady.
His favorite actor is Denzel Washington.
His idol growing up was Reggie Miller. His regular number is #3, but he wore #31 during the 2005-2006 as a tribute to Reggie Miller who retired in the 2004-2005 season.
Villanueva is known by the nicknames CV3, Charlie V. and The Big Smooth.

External links

ESPN.com
NBA.com
SI.com
Yahoo Sports
Charlie Villanueva's Home Page
National Alopecia Areata Foundation
The Charlie Villanueva Foundation - Still under construction
Charlie Inspires (REAL video download of Charlie Villanueva inspiring other sufferers of alopecia areata)