Villanueva Stays Close To Home

The decision by Charlie Villanueva to stay close to home comes as no surprise. Villanueva, rated the third best player in the 2003 class by RivalsHoops.com, is very close to his family and has a great support system. Villanueva chose Connecticut today over Kansas.

"Charlie will fit in well at Connecticut," said his AAU coach, Gary Charles of the Long Island Panthers. "He has the ability to play either the four (power forward) or the three (small forward) position. Coach Calhoun has a great style of play too."

Villanueva, 6-foot-10 from Blair Academy in New Jersey, is currently working out at IMG Academy in Florida in preparation for a possible entry into the June 2003 NBA draft. "Charlie has until June 19th to decide," Charles said. "There will be some scouts coming to Florida this week to take a look at Charlie in the workouts. Then after the workouts we will see where he might go."

Villanueva is a player that Charles has worked with over the past few years. "He has really made a conscious effort to play defense," Charles said. "He has also made a great effort to be a leader out there on the court for us."

Now the next question that needs to be answered for Connecticut fans is when might Villanueva make his decision on playing college ball? "If it comes sooner than June 19th then Charlie will announce it," Charles said. "But we are going to be sure about it before he announces it."