Ranking Raptor Draft Picks: #6

Before we begin, a couple of things:

1. Thank you to Raptors Republic for the linkage.  You guys do a superb job of unearthing Raptor-related content on the interweb; so it occasionally leads to an awkward video starring someone with a proclivity for masturbating to photos of Alvin Williams…  So what.
2. Got a few emails with respect to the 2009 Draft; people want to know if I have any opinions on what the Raps will do with the #9th pick.  My answer: No.  No I don’t.  Here’s a quick story to sum up my feelings about the Raptors currently:

Saturday night my wife and I went to the TFC game (it’s a whole other post) with our friends Jodi and Jeff (or, Peff, as I like to call him).  During halftime we settled into the bar at the north end of the stadium.  It was a beautiful night, the beer was flowing, TFC was up 2-0, fake British accents and scarves were plentiful.

Now, at this point, I’m approximately 5 beers into the night.  Good times.  Out of nowhere, my friend Sue walks out of the BMO Box in the Northeast corner of the stadium after spotting me.  Turns out, one Bryan Colangelo is in the booth with a bunch of folks from MLSE.  Leading to this exchange:

Sue: “Bryan Colangelo is in the BMO Booth.”
Me: “Why? Is he interested in ruining the soccer team as well?”
Sue: “Hey!! Bryan’s my friend, you be nice.”

*10 seconds of silence.*

Me: (Slurring a little) “I’m sorry. It’s just… He ruined my team.”
Sue: “Stephen! Be nice.”
Me: “Can I say one more mean thing?”
Sue: “Fine.”

*Pause.*

Me: “If I put a little bit of pee in my $12 beer, would you bring it to him?”

*Dead silence.*

Back to the list!  If this is your first time with one of these posts you can check out the full list right here.  I’ll quickly tell you that Vince Carter, Morris Peterson, Chris Bosh, Damon Stoudamire and Marcus Camby are our 1 – 5.  Looking at that list, you’ll probably realize that we aren’t ranking players on talent alone.

Still on the board, in order of the year they were selected:

1. Tracy McGrady
2. Aleksandar Radojević
3. Michael Bradley
4. Rafael Araújo
   
5. Charlie Villanueva
6. Graham, JoeyJoey Graham
7. Andrea Bargnani

Without further ado, Searching For ‘93 is proud to present the sixth best draft pick in Raptors History: Charlie Villanueva.

(What’s this?  Tracy McGrady is still on the board?  You’re fucking right he is.  Without stepping on the McGrady post let me just say that I think he mortally wounded the Toronto Raptor fan base.  Not to mention the fact that he sucked while he was here.  The O/U for the McGrady post is 2,676.5 words.)

Time to examine my man Charlie V:

• Overall impact on the franchise:
  • Can’t say it better than his Wikipedia Page: He averaged 13 points and 6.4 rebounds in 81 games. He finished second among rookies in points and rebounds, and third in minutes and blocked shots. He also tallied 12 double-doubles and set the Raptors’ rookie records for points (48) and rebounds (18) in a game. Villanueva also appeared in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and was named to the All-NBA Rookie First Team.
  • Helped Raptor fans get ahead of the curve when it came to hating Stephen A. Smith (counts for something).
  • Charlie on his connection with Chris Bosh early on in his rookie season: “We’re like Tim Duncan and David Robinson, but a younger version.  I really feel that.”
  • His trade to Milwaukee for TJ Ford paved the way for the most exciting and enjoyable season in Raptors history (2006-2007).
  • Did the exact same things as Andrea Bargnani (right down to the crappy defense) except, um, he did them better.  Oops.
• Draft position:
  • Villanueva was nabbed with the 7th pick in the 2005 Draft.  There were rumors that Portland was going to nab Charlie at #6, but they have a long standing policy that there players must be able to grow pubic hair.
  • The first six picks were Andrew Bogut, Marvin Williams, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Raymond Felton and Martell Webster.  Not a bad top six, just totally out of order.

Not sure if this video is staged.  Whatever…  It’s awesome for the following reasons:

1. If this were a staged reaction video there would have been swearing after Villanueva was announced.
2. I reacted exactly the same way.
3. Both guys drink three-quarters of a beer in approximately 43 seconds, all from nervous sips.
4. When the guy on the right walks out, realizes he has nowhere to go and then walks back in the frame and out the other door…  It’s the little things.

• Players not selected:
  • This section is more interesting when you consider that the (main) criticism behind Villanueva’s selection was that he played the same position as Chris Bosh.  If Babcock had filled out the team a little better he might have saved his job.  Bryan Colangelo learned from this mistake by selecting Andrea Bargnani, who…  plays the same position as Chris Bosh.
  • Andrew Bynum, Danny Granger, Nate Robinson and Monta Ellis.  Let’s not talk about the Danny Granger thing.
• Character:
  • By all accounts, Charlie’s a great guy.  He does a lot of charity work.  He connects with his fans during halftime only to have his over-controlling coach with the Napoleonic complex reprimand him.  What else is there to say?  Good people, that Charlie V. –

I thought this list would start to get rancid as we whipped down the wormhole towards shit-ville.  Not so.  (Your opinion may differ.)  As the decisions get more questionable, I think I’ll have the ability to raise my game.

Coming soon: #7.

- S’93