Charlie Villanueva

Charlie Alexander Villanueva (born August 24, 1984 in Queens, New York City) is an American basketball player who currently plays for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association.

The son of Dominican immigrants, Villanueva was raised in Elmhurst, Queens, New York. He was drafted at the age of 20, seventh overall pick, in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors. He also holds Dominican citizenship and therefore he has represented the Dominican Republic national basketball team in international competition.

High school

During his freshman year, Villanueva attended Newtown High School in Queens, New York, where he was a teammate of future NBA player Smush Parker. He spent his next three years at Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey, where he played with another future NBA player, Luol Deng. Villanueva received All-American honors as a senior and was named New Jersey Co-Player of the Year. He entered the 2003 NBA Draft, but withdrew his eligibility so he could play basketball at the University of Connecticut.In his senior year, he was 5th place in the high school slam dunk contest, ahead of Ndudi Ebi, Travis Outlaw, and Brittany Hunter, and behind Shannon Brown, Von Wafer, J.R. Giddens, and the winner, LeBron James.

College career

Villanueva originally gave a verbal commitment to play for the University of Illinois, but after Bill Self left...
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