Pronunciation
villa-noo-wayva
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Dream: 2005 NBA Draft - 7th Pick by the Toronto Raptors (Lottery
Selection)
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Credit: Thanks from Charlie Villanueva - "I would just
like to first thank God foremost, with out his guidance, don't know where
I would be right now. Furthermore, I would like to specially thank my mom,
Dora Mejia, for the hard struggle she put up in raising me. Also, like to
thank all of my brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents,
and my dad; the whole family, you all know who you are - thank you. My
family is truly important to me and I thank God for blessing me with
them."
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Special: In Remembrance of a Beautiful Woman, My Aunt, God Bless
Rest In Peace
Marcia "Olga" Mejia
Sun Rise: 8/20/53
Sun Set: 3/29/04
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Note: Sub-pages above are pop-up.
Src: Biography primarily written by Ilyana Lanai - Dime Magazine, Issue
No.5 Winter 2002
Check out Charlie Villanueva in action
at
2006 All Star Houston
 Watch
Game Highlights
 "The great thing about Villanueva is that
he's a multi-category producer. He can score, rebound, drain threes, create steals and even dabble in the art of
rejection." NBA.com
"Didn't understand the outrage and ridicule then and certainly don't understand it now that a little time has passed.
Villanueva deserved to be selected where he was. Nobody picked lower than Villanueva has played better than he
has." Fox Sports Network
"I remember hearing the so-called draft-night experts rip Charlie Villanueva when he was
taken. Well, they should all line up and apologize, because the kid can
play." Boston Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers
"A lot of people questioned that pick at No. 7, and he's been
successful. The only question people had about Charlie was how hard he played. . . . I think that kid has unbelievable talent."
Hall of Fame, New York Knicks Head Coach Larry
Brown
"Charlie is one of the more talented young men I
have ever had the opportunity to coach. He leaves here with three
championship rings. He is a terrific kid, a special young man. He has great talent, great character and he wants to be good."
Hall of Fame, University of
Connecticut Head Coach Jim Calhoun
"I just
go out there and play hard, people may doubt me, but I was believe in myself."
Milwaukee Bucks, Charlie
Villanueva
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• Nicknames:
CV, Charlie V, Smooth
• Middle Name: Alexander
• Birth Place: Elmhurst (Queens, NY)
• Ethnic: Hispanic, Latino
• Origin: Dominican
Republic
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• Height:
Grew 7" over the Summer
of 2000.
• Basketball: Started at
age 10.
• Former Teammates: Smush
Parker (H.S.), Luol Deng (H.S.),
Ben Gordon (NCAA),
Emeka Okafor
(NCAA) |
• First Dunk:
At the age of 13
• Position: Played point guard 1st year in
Newtown H.S.; played all five positions at Blair Academy.
• Jersey Number: 31
• Previous Numbers: 3,
13, 33 |
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Did you
know? Charlie is the only one of
four boys not named Robert, after his Dad. |
 It began
with a flurry of college recruiters ready to court the 6-foot-10,
240-pound versatile forward, which spent three academic years at Blair Academy
(Blairstown, N.J.) after starting his high school career at Newtown High School
(Queens, N.Y.). A mission that first started with a verbal commitment to Illinois. But the departure of Illini head coach Bill Self left Villanueva questioning his
choice and looking toward an NBA future, which till this day Villanueva has said it's been one of his toughest decision (backing out of his Illinois
commitment).
Villanueva
seriously consider the NBA (2003) at one point and went through the entire NBA draft process. He waited till the actual deadline day to realize college was the obvious choice. He reopened the recruiting process and narrowed his choice to two - Coach Self's new home, Kansas, and the heavy loaded UConn Huskies. When he was face with yet another tough decision, it was the Huskies who gladly welcomed the consensus
national top-five high school recruit.
A
wise decision it was for Villanueva to play with the likes of Ben
Gordon & Emeka
Okafor under
legendary Hall of Fame Coach Jim
Calhoun. One NCAA
National Championship (2004) later, Villanueva continued his second year
at the University of Connecticut, where he lead his team to a 1st Place Big East Conference
Title. In addition, he was honored the Team MVP (scoring leader) and lead
the Big East Conference in rebounding. After two great seasons in Huskies
land, Villanueva made the ultimate decision and entered his name in the
2005 NBA Draft.
Needless
to say... "With the 7th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, the Toronto
Raptors select Charlie Villanueva" said David Stern. The
rest will be proven...
As
the journey continues with a new surrounding, yet the same mind set, the beautiful
city of Milwaukee.
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He suffers from Alopecia Areata, an autoimmune skin disease resulting in hair loss on the scalp and elsewhere in the body. The disease is actually relatively
common, affecting over four million Americans. It is not a life-threatening disease, nor contagious.