Charlie Villanueva Joins the List of
UConn Lottery Selections
New York (June 28, 2005)-- University of
Connecticut forward Charlie Villanueva (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was selected
Tuesday night with the No. 7 pick in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Toronto
Raptors.
Villanueva becomes the fourth UConn lottery
selection in the past four seasons and is the seventh Husky under Jim
Calhoun to earn selection in the lottery portion of the first round
since 1994. Villanueva joins Emeka Okafor (2004), Ben Gordon (2004),
Caron Butler (2002), Richard Hamilton (1999), Ray Allen (1996) and
Donyell Marshall (1994) as Husky lottery picks. Villanueva is the
tenth UConn product selected in the first round under Jim Calhoun and
the Huskies have now had 16 players selected in the past 17 years.
“I couldn’t be happier for Charlie", said UConn
coach Jim Calhoun. "He continues to prove that there is no substitute
for hard work. And, given his talents and the work he put in for two
years at UConn and that he continued to do so while he had tryouts for
various teams, he became another Husky who impressed scouts; and as a
result, he was rewarded by a great place in the draft. We are all very
happy for him and wish him all the best in what should be a very
successful NBA career.”
Villanueva appeared in 63 games in his two seasons as a Husky,
starting 35 of those contests, including all 31 games as a sophomore in 2004-05.
He was the Huskies leading scorer this season, averaging 13.6 points and 8.3
rebounds while earning All-BIG EAST and NABC All-District Second Team honors. He
played his best ball down the stretch in 2004-05, averaging 18.2 points and 9.7
rebounds over the final ten games of the season and averaging 19.0 points and
9.5 rebounds during the NCAA Tournament. Villanueva led the team with 12
double-doubles on the year.
Villanueva was a BIG EAST All-Rookie team selection as a
freshman in 2003-04, helping the Huskies to the 2004 NCAA National Championship.
He came to UConn as a consensus All-American as a senior at Blair Academy.
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