Villanueva Could Work if Given the Time

July 8, 2009

Charlie Villanueva could work out if he's given the time

BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST



Let’s go back, for a moment, to Joe Dumars’ first big summer blockbuster move. It was the summer of 2000. Grant Hill had decided to leave Detroit for Orlando. Dumars made sure he got Ben Wallace in the deal.

Big Ben had averaged 4.8 points and 8.2 rebounds in 24.2 minutes a game in Orlando. People pegged him as a starter for a bad team, nothing more.

But Dumars and his scouts watched closely, and they realized something: Wallace did not seem to get tired. The more he played, the more he produced. They thought that maybe he was more than a role player.

Well, you know what happened. In his third year in Detroit, Wallace averaged 15.4 rebounds in 39.4 minutes. It was an astounding performance.

This brings me to Charlie Villanueva, which sounds ridiculous. By reputation, Villanueva and Wallace are as different as Tiger Woods and a talking Chihuahua. Nobody has said Villanueva has a “high motor.” Nobody ever questioned his gifts.

People often have told Wallace he wasn’t talented enough to play in the NBA.

People often have asked Villanueva why he hasn’t reached his potential.

But when I talked to Villanueva on Wednesday, on the day he and Ben Gordon officially became Pistons, he said something that reminded me of Wallace.

“You look at the games where I played over 30 minutes, my rebounding and scoring jumped up drastically,” Villanueva said. “If I play consistent minutes, I can produce.”

This sent me on a mathematical excursion that involved some simple addition, long division and — I hope you don’t mind my bragging here — brief use of a calculator.

Here is what I found:

Villanueva played at least 30 minutes in 29 games last season. His averages in those 29 games: 23.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, 36 minutes. The rebound numbers especially impressed me, because when his team has the ball, Villanueva spends a lot of time on the perimeter, and it is hard to rebound from there.

By comparison: Toronto star Chris Bosh averaged 22.7 points and 10.0 rebounds in 38 minutes last season.

And no, I’m not saying Villanueva is as good as Bosh. I am just saying that maybe Villanueva is better than people realize. Effort is tough to judge in sports, and it is especially difficult because most people think they can judge it.

We look at the Pistons’ Jason Maxiell and think “that guy is trying like crazy.” Maxiell is short for his position, he has a muscular upper body, he never smiles on the court, and he has limited offensive skills.

Maxiell seems like the epitome of the self-made player. And maybe he is. But this might surprise you: Villanueva grabs rebounds at a higher rate than Maxiell. He always has, for as long as they’ve both played in the NBA.

“A lot of people say it seems like I’m not working,” Villanueva said. “But I am. The game comes easy to me. I have a very good feel for the game. I feel comfortable when I’m on the basketball court.”

He admits he was not a naturally aggressive defender. (“When I came into the league, a lot of people knocked me on that, and I struggled with it. I definitely improved in that aspect.”) But how many guys with his offensive talent also are great defenders?

Villanueva’s problem is that people see him as a twist on that old Broadway song: Anything he can do, he can do better. He looks like he can do whatever he wants on a basketball court, so why doesn’t he?

It always has been this way for him. Gordon has known Villanueva, 24, since they were kids, and the knocks against Villanueva now are the same knocks from when he was 13.

“People look at how easy the game comes to Charlie and they judge him by that,” Gordon said. “His skill level is so high. Charlie works hard. He is an experienced, talented guy.”

Of course, Gordon couldn’t help himself.

“And he’s young,” Gordon said. “I don’t think he’s reached his potential yet.”