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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