Before we turn our full attention on this pick in the draft, let me first say that it is nice to have the NHL season get underway. Although hockey has lost its place among “the big four” sports in North America, if you have not tried it out, my strong suggestion is for you to withold final judgment until you see a game live. The speed simply does not translate to the small screen.

How is this related to hoops? Well, you might find yourself in a league with Canadians who might not be studying up as hard as they should on hoops because the buzz of a new hockey season is too hard to ignore. And unnecessary aggravation from a hockey league is just as problematic for fantasy players as it can be sometimes for a basketball league. Take this league I am in, partnered with a friend. The commish cannot even input the draft results, set waiver priority in the proper order plus the league has not even been activated even though the NHL started play last week! What a bunch of amateurs. So to all the Dime readers out there, do yourself a favour and make sure your basketball league has a good commish at the helm. That way, you do not have to worry about the league settings going out of whack, and can settle down to the business of picking a winning squad.

Round 6, Pick 6: Charlie Villanueva, SF/PF, Milwaukee Bucks.

From a hometown fan…

I like Charlie V. He behaved like a professional during his time in Toronto. This pick was severely panned on draft day, but Charlie has proved a lot of “experts” wrong. It hurt a bit to watch a tape of the draft back in June after coming home from a trip to Europe. The trade had already gone down, and Charlie had spoken to a local television channel, stating how if it was up to him, he would want to play his whole career in Toronto. Sure it might have just been lip service, but this man has an air of being genuine about him. Him and Chris Bosh could have been an incredible forward duo here. I like T.J. Ford, but the facts are Charlie is being picked now, and as far as I know, Ford has not been given serious consideration yet.

So partly this pick is to pay some homage to Villanueva. The Raptors play their home opener against the Bucks. I will be there, and am sure Charlie will receive a warm welcome.

Back to the fantasy side of things…

Why does Charlie V excite fantasy owners? Simple really…we cannot get enough of big men who can shoot the rock from behind the arc. In his rookie year he drained 70 moneyballs while posting solid averages of 13.0 ppg and 6.4 rpg. He recorded 60 steals and 63 blocks. With more playing time in his sophomore campaign, he should be able to tally 15 ppg, 7 rpg, and land close to the vaunted 1-1-1 line for treys-steals-blocks.

For this particular fantasy roster, he settles into a supporting role perfectly. His scoring helps the team after going with guys like Marcus Camby and Andre Iguodala. His threes will add to the output from both Gilbert Arenas and Joe Johnson. Tim Duncan and Marcus Camby are two of the best rebounders in the league, but they will not win the category by themselves. Charlie V does a little bit of everything for this team. Free throw percentage still needs some work overall, but with open spots at guard, small forward and the utility slots left to fill, there is still time to shore up that category.

And now with Andrew Bogut out for 6-8 weeks, Charlie V could see more time down on the block. Could he acquire center eligibility? Don’t bristle at that notion; Boris Diaw gained it last year, right?

See you on November 3rd, Charlie V, and good luck this year. Sorry I could not find a picture of you in your new uniform, so I went with a throwback pic from your college days.

Other Team Members:

1.7. Gilbert Arenas
2.6. Tim Duncan
3.7. Joe Johnson
4.6. Marcus Camby
5.7. Andre Iguodala, SG/SF, Philadelphia 76ers