Well, the story on Villanueva goes pretty much like this: When he was drafted nearly everyone who had an opinion on anything related to the NBA thought the Raptors made a huge mistake and he would not be able to play with Bosh. The mood in Toronto was pretty much the same (I reserved judgment until he began playing though, and I'm glad I did) although we were quite jaded after drafting Rafael "The Big Useless" Araujo in 2004.

When he started out Charlie V. was playing exceptionally well when looking at what was expected of him. He knew he wasn't going to start and play 40 mins. a game but he also knew that the Raptors and their fans would treat him well if he performed at a reasonably good level. The V-Man was taking shots, creating opportunities for others, playing very good defense (for a rookie anyway) and basically overacheiving. Although the Raps were playing horrendously the bright spots were Villanueva and Jose Calderon. Although Calderon's play has dropped off quite a bit Villanueva (who did go through dry spells of his own) has mostly kept up his solid play. From the beginning of the season he was always playing hard inside and on defense and wasn't just a dead body (Araujo) on the floor but recently he has stepped up his outside game and increased his court presence to a great degree. Obviously I'm not unbiased in this matter but I really think that the R.O.Y. race is between Villanueva and Paul until any of the other freshman can prove themselves. I mean Andrew Bogut has played relatively well but he hasn't lived up to the enormous expectations placed on him. Channing Frye, Deron Williams, Sarunas J., Luther Head and Nate Robinson are playing well, but in my opinion, the race is between Villanueva and Paul.