Post by jhb on Feb 25, 2021 15:05:51 GMT -5
Charlie Villanueva
PF
6'11"
232
21
UConn
After having a disastrous time working out for pro scouts as a high school graduate looking to make the jump to the league, Villanueva smartly took a scholarship to go to UConn and play with some established stars in Storrs while further developing his game. He flashed as a reserve for the Huskies as a freshman and worked his way into the starting lineup by season's end, but Villanueva truly burst onto the scene (and back onto scouts' radars) with a breakout sophomore season.
Villanueva is considered a very versatile talent. He moves well for his size (though he's not much of a leaper) and has shown the ability to score at all three levels. He's a bit passive and hangs around the perimeter at times but that's alright because he has a nice stroke from range. His focus is inconsistent so despite his silky shot, he hasn't been consistently great yet from free throw line, which is frustrating. He has a couple of post moves that he can use to score, but needs to clean up his footwork to continue to excel from there at the next level. His passive nature on offense and tendency to look for catch and shoot opportunities means he isn't as big of a factor on the offensive boards as he could be considering his solid work on the defensive end.
Defensively, he's shown that he can be a passable post defender. Despite being only an average leaper, he does have good timing and instincts to get up and block some shots. He's also versatile defensively as he showed the ability to step out and capably stay in front of some college wings, although that may be a bit tougher against a higher class of athletes.
One scout did mention some misgivings about Villanueva, as an unnamed former member of the Timberwolves' organization said that Villanueva either "was a cancer to his team" or "looked like a cancer patient". Something along those lines.
