Villanueva Talks About Hall Trip

It was a big weekend for Seton Hall. One of their top targets, Charlie Villanueva, the 6-10 combo forward from Blair Academy in New Jersey, made an appearance on the campus. Villanueva was taking his second official visit. He has already been to the campus of Illinois. "Seton Hall has some really nice people on campus," Villanueva said. "They make you feel like you are part of your family. It was a very enjoyble trip."

Villanueva said the difference between the Illinois visit and Seton Hall trip was the size of the campus. "Illinois was very big," Charlie said. "Seton Hall was very small. Illinois fans are very dedicated. Seton Hall people are very loyal. It's going to be a tough decision."

Before he has a chance to make a tough decision, Villanueva will officially visit Indiana. "Coach Mike Davis is one of the best," Villanueva said. "They have a winning tradition. They love their basketball there."

Charlie will visit Indiana on October 18th with his teammate at Blair -- Luol Deng. If Deng decided to verbal to Indiana, would this help Villanueva go to the Hoosiers? "It would help but it wouldn't decide it for me," Villanueva said. "It would be nice to play with Luol. But Luol has to make up his mind and I have to do what's right for me."

Villanueva, No. 3 in the RivalsHoops.com's top 100, will then finish up his trips with a visit to Villanova the weekend of October 25th. Jason Fraser and Curtis Sumpter, former AAU teammates with the Long Island Panthers, await Charlie. "Yeah," Charlie laughed. "I can't wait to see those guys. It's been a while since we last played together. But we are going to get together talk about some of the memories we had together."

Villanueva had a very successful visit to Illinois last weekend. "I like the visit a lot," Charlie said. "Both of my visits so far have been enjoyable. I like the coaches with all the schools on my list. That's why I said it would be a tough decision."

Villanueva, who had a rock solid summer, can spray you with jumpers from beyond the three or hammer you with a thundering dunk in transition. He runs the floor well and is agile enough to play several positions on the college level. Villanueva should have a big year at Blair.