[hobojoe]

LINK

Connecticut forward Charlie Villanueva is expected to declare for the NBA draft and not return for his junior season, a member of UConn's coaching staff said Monday.

Two years ago, Villanueva declared for the NBA draft out of New Jersey's Blair Academy, withdrew his name and chose to accept a scholarship to UConn. The NCAA allows players to declare for the draft and retain their amateur status only one time during their careers.

Villanueva, who attended a team meeting Monday on campus, has until mid-May to formally announce his intentions to leave the Huskies.

The 6-foot-11 Villanueva averaged a team-high 13.6 points, and was second in rebounding average (8.3 per game). Connecticut, last year's national champion, was eliminated Sunday from the NCAA Tournament by North Carolina State in the second round in Worcester, Mass.

 

[ATLien]

If Boone, Gay, and Williams stay they should be very good next year. Even without Villanueva.

 

[JNice]

Maybe a mistake? Villanueva is not at all that impressive to me. Maybe a late first rounder. I don't really see what the big deal about the guy is. And I think his athleticism for his size, from what I have seen, has been vastly overrated.

Actually, maybe not a mistake... maybe now is the time to go before he gets exposed as just an average player.

 

[jdg]

Interesting news, but it should be noted that Villanueva COULD return to college if he declared this year. The one declaration for the draft rule only applies to players who have already began their NCAA career. Since Charlie declared before he went to UConn, this year would count as his one year he could come back from.

 

[TM]

i have a feeling he's not coming back, no matter what. he was close two years ago. he's already got a title. in his mind, why come back? obviously, his numbers could improve. i'm no uconn expert, but it seems to me his biggest problem is that he's almost lazy sometimes. maybe not fully lazy, but just doensn't go all out all the time. there were several games i saw where he put his mind to it and was just a beast - other games you could hardly tell he was there. :twocents:

 

[Cap]

He already has attitude issues. If he can pan those out he'd be a lottery pick. Right now he's a mid-to-late first rounder.

 

[MarvinWilliams#1in05]

What are you guys talking about? He's easily a lottery pick. Way better than than Taft, and much more experienced than the sorry foreigners. He's improved his play a ton this season. Easily a top 10 pick in this weak draft class.

 

[The_Franchise]

Villanueva is not at all that impressive to me. Maybe a late first rounder. I don't really see what the big deal about the guy is. And I think his athleticism for his size, from what I have seen, has been vastly overrated.

Agreed, and I don't think he will fare well in this year's draft. When you're a tweener with no post game and an outside shot that isn't very consistent, it's going to be very hard for you to make it in the NBA. He could have used another year in college to add some post moves, or toughen up his interior defense. Right now I see him falling to Seattle or Sacramento (20s).

 

[adarsh1]

good move by villanueva. He was considered a top ten pick before he went to college. Now he is considered a mid to late first rounder. However, he stopped himself before his stock fell too much. I wouldn't be surprised if Gay and Williams enter next

 

[Cap]

What are you guys talking about? He's easily a lottery pick. Way better than than Taft, and much more experienced than the sorry foreigners. He's improved his play a ton this season. Easily a top 10 pick in this weak draft class.

He's a major attitude question mark. As someone just alluded to, his stock is lower now than it was when he entered college.

 

[Kaas]

This is the smart thing to do. 2 years ago, when people saw Villanueva's cocky demeanor he wasn't even going to be drafted. Now he's turned himself into a mid-first pick. Can't complain about that.

 

[ATLien]

good move by villanueva. He was considered a top ten pick before he went to college. Now he is considered a mid to late first rounder. However, he stopped himself before his stock fell too much. I wouldn't be surprised if Gay and Williams enter next

Yeah.

I really like Marcus William's game, but I think he may need another year of exposure.

He didn't really catch many people's attention towards the tail end of the regular season, and then in the tournament he had a bum ankle.

 

[MarvinWilliams#1in05]

He's a major attitude question mark. As someone just alluded to, his stock is lower now than it was when he entered college.

That shows how little you know about Villanuevas situation. The guy wasn't even going to be drafted when he was coming out of high school. I haven't seen any attitude problems in the second half of the season. Nmae one time he sulked or yelled at teammates. He did everything right in the second half of the season. I watched every Uconn game that was televised, and he couldn't have been a better team player.

As for his post game and him being a tweener? You are probably the same guys who claimed Okafor had no post game coming out of college. He's got a jump hook and a sweet mid-range jumper, he doesn't need anything else. Uconn doesn't have flops in the NBA in case you haven't realized that by now. Callhoun gets these guys ready and they all seem to do more than fine. Charlie will have a solid NBA career.

 

[GNG]

He's a major attitude question mark. As someone just alluded to, his stock is lower now than it was when he entered college.

But you have to respect a guy who is cocky in spite of his inability to grow eyebrows.

 

[MarvinWilliams#1in05]

But you have to respect a guy who is cocky in spite of his inability to grow eyebrows.

Making fun of diseases? Do you go to hospitals and poke fun at kids with cancer and aids? Just curious?

 

[GNG]

Making fun of diseases? Do you go to hospitals and poke fun at kids with cancer and aids? Just curious?

Did I not just say I respected him?

And that's got to be some kind of logical fallacy. Where's Mengtu when you need him?

 

[Nimreitz]

It's an unwarrented conclusion, or a non sequitur.

Charlie is athletic, tall, aggressive, and runs the floor. I didn't see his bum workout in Chicago, but I have watched him in the McDonald's game and his 2 years at UConn and I just love how he plays. He doesn't have quite the athleticism of a Chris Taft (although it's not as far behind as you may think), but he really can have a killer instinct and just goes after the ball. It's also not easy to have virtually the same amount of rebounds as Josh Boone and since Charlie came out of the gate slow I'm guessing he's out rebounding him in 2005. In my opinion, he's a rich man's Josh Boone.

 

[rebelsun]

Smart career move on his part. There are talented bigs at the very top, but not much after that. I think New Jersey will be taking a long look at him, among others. He won't fall past the mid-1st.

 

[ATLien]

Yeah. Charlie's skill set is not mind blowing, but he has nice length and athleticism going in his favor. That versatility will probably earn him some bonus points among NBA GM's, I think he probably goes somewhere in the teens.

 

[Tragedy]

Did I not just say I respected him?

And that's got to be some kind of logical fallacy. Where's Mengtu when you need him?

It would be easier if you said you respected him in a previous post, but you said it in the same statement that contained the shot at his illness.

So you respect him yet clown his sickness at the same time. Poor copout.