Poor Charlie: The Underdog Story

There's a young, 6'11" 240 lb power forward on the Milwaukee Bucks with serious potential. He's dropped 48 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in individual games. He hit 6 three-pointers in a game, proving he has true NBA range, and recorded 5 blocks in another, proving he has the length and athleticism to be a force on defense. But his first season in Milwaukee saw him miss 43 games to injury, and his second saw him lose his starting spot to politics in the form of another 6'11" 240 lb forward named Yi Jianlian. Stop. At this time, I'd like to pause for this important public service announcement from all the people of China: EE JIN LIN. That's how you pronounce his goddamn name. EE JIN LIN. Not EE JONG LEE-ONG like how every single sports broadcaster is butchering it other than Bill Walton, who at least comes close with EE JIN LEE. I know it's not as easy as YAO MING, but, thanks to me, you'll figure it out much sooner than the 1:00AM SportsCenter crew will (if they ever do). We now return you to your original article, the story of Charlie Villanueva. Charlie's story is one of my all-time favorite NBA stories. When he was 10, Charlie began losing his hair. His family discovered he suffered from Alopecia areata, an autoimmune skin disease that results in the loss of hair on one's head and sometimes, as in Charlie's case, all over one's body. By the time he was 12, Charlie was completely bald, which as anyone who grew up awkwardly different from all his or her peers can attest to, meant he was in for a long, painful childhood being teased and laughed at by his classmates. He got through it. Charlie took all the insults and mocking in stride and stayed focused on his dream of playing basketball. In this he succeeded, eventually becoming New Jersey State High School Co-Player of the Year with his classmate Luol Deng in 2003, being named to the Big East All-Rookie team in 2004, and winning the national championship the same year. I remember the day in the Summer of 2005 when he was drafted #7 overall by the Toronto Raptors. Jay Bilas and the ESPN crew ripped into this pick mercilessly. Charlie's soft. Charlie plays unmotivated. Toronto already has Chris Bosh, why do they need Charlie Villanueva? After hearing all this, Charlie had to sit down and explain himself to Stuart Scott. He did so admirably, considering everyone just called him a complete bust before he even played a single minute of an NBA game. The day he arrived in Toronto, he picked up a newspaper and it was more of the same. Worst pick in franchise history. Again with the insults. Again with the mocking. He got through that as well. Again, he stayed focused. Again, he worked his ass off. Again, he'd prove himself to everyone. Everyone didn't have to wait long. In his sixth game as a Toronto Raptor, Charlie went out and dropped 26 points and 12 rebounds on Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis's Seattle Supersonics. Shut the fuck up, Jay Bilas. Two nights later, he went out and dropped 27 and 13 on Allen Iverson and Chris Webber's Sixers. Even louder now -- SHUT THE FUCK UP, JAY BILAS. He finished his rookie season averaging 13 and 6 with close to an assist, a three-pointer, a steal, and a block in 29 minutes a game. He also finished second to uber-rookie Chris Paul for Rookie of the Year. Unfortunately, Toronto was still a dysfunctional team at the time, and they ended the season with a record of 27-55, well out of the running for the playoffs. Nevertheless, this gave Charlie plenty of time for his extracurricular pursuits. In addition to being a spokesman for the National Alopecia Areata Foundation to raise awareness about this rare disease, he also set up The Charlie Villanueva Foundation to combat bullying in our nation's schools and neighborhoods. Take a step back one moment and read that again. In a decade that saw Columbine, Virginia Tech, and so many other horrific shootings by students who felt like they were outcasts from society, all politicians and media pundits want to do about is yell and scream about gun control, violent video games, and rap/rock music. Who is out there talking to the kids? Who is trying to hear what the bullies and their victims have to say and get a positive message out to them? Is your congressional representative doing that? Most likely no. Is your President? Definitely not. Charlie Villanueva is, and it is a crime that more people aren't. It's been a rough two years since Charlie was traded to Milwaukee, and now he's stuck behind Yi Jianlian, a player Milwaukee promised 25 minutes a game to get him to sign on. I can't blame them. They are a business, and they just grabbed a crucial piece of the colossal Chinese sports market. And to his credit, Yi has been playing superbly so far. But don't sleep on Charlie. You can doubt him. You can insult him. But don't sleep on this guy, because he will come back with a vengeance and make you look like a fool. Again.