<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Five years ago, Joe Mantegna ventured into a tough part of Queens, N.Y., not knowing what to expect. The coach of the Blair Academy high school team in New Jersey had heard all the great stories about Charlie Villanueva, the basketball player. But just what would this kid from the rough and tumble inner-city be like off the court? Could a teenager with a not-so-great academic record, who spoke Spanish in an apartment which rattled every few minutes when the subway rumbled by, fit into an intense academic boarding school in the middle of nowhere? Was Charlie Villanueva really worth the risk? "I knew right away, just from the way he treated his mom and younger sister, that this was a good person," Mantegna said of the Raptors' latest top draft pick. "He has that scowl on his face and people see he is from Brooklyn and maybe they make inferences. But they're false. They don't know him. He's an ultra-talented, versatile player and there is no downside to him as a person." </div> Source
Good to see that he's still a nice person after being raised in Brooklyn and all that. I agree that if you first see him and learn his background you'd think he's a shady character, but it's not true whatsoever.
It's ignorant to think that just because he was raised in BK that he'd be a thug and a bad person.. I don't question that he's a good person.. I question whether or not he's got the heart and the hunger to be a great player.. Maybe #7's too high for him but I still saw him as lottery talent.. Let him start next to Bosh and they'll compliment each other well..
He wont do so bad in the NBA. He might not be a great player but he could become a good player for the Raptors. I see 9 ppg with 8 rpg and 2 bpg from Villanueva. The Raptors still need a PG though, and bad.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trueplaya4real:</div><div class="quote_post">He wont do so bad in the NBA. He might not be a great player but he could become a good player for the Raptors. I see 9 ppg with 8 rpg and 2 bpg from Villanueva. The Raptors still need a PG though, and bad.</div> It depends how Ukic turns out, we still have Rafer, Ukic, possibly Cook, and Alvin is also a possibility.
