Charlie Villanueva has always been known as a player who can stuff a stat sheet. This was shown during his rookie season he set the Raptors franchise record for points (48) and rebounds (18) scored in a game.

His ability to score or post gaudy numbers has never been the problem, instead it’s been his inability to stop the man he’s guarding that has kept Villanueva from starting or securing substantial minutes with Toronto or Milwaukee.

When Scott Skiles was named as the new head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks this summer, many people predicted Villanueva would either be dealt or would languish on the bench this season. However, the opposite happened as Villanueva averaged 29.7 minutes per game in January. With his additional minutes and touches on the offensive end he averaged an impressive 20.2 points and 7.0 rebounds.

The player who many thought would be the focal point of the offense this season, Richard Jefferson, is more than happy to deflect praise towards Villanueva for his recent strong play.

“Charlie (Villanueva) is going through that natural maturation process where he was a scorer and now if he really wants to take his game to the next level he needs to be a playmaker in the sense that we may give him the ball 10 times in a row and he may pass it, drive or he may take five shots. It’s not about, ‘hey, I’ve got to score,’ because teams start to know he likes to score and they are going to stop giving you easy shots. But once you start being a playmaker, that’s where you can take your game to that next level by making other people around you better. He has all of those skills.”

Villanueva, however, shrugged when asked what has caused this recent surge in his production.

“I’ve just been playing with a lot of confidence,” Villanueva told Hoops Addict. “Plus it’s been the opportunity to play with Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd being out. They are two good scorers so the opportunity came and I’m just answering the call.”

The change isn’t just due to Bogut and Redd being or that he’s becoming a playmaker, it’s because of a new dedication on the defensive end by Villanueva. During his time in the NBA – and arguably since his days at Connecticut – Villanueva has been labeled as a player who won’t dig in his heels at the defensive end.

When Skiles was named as the latest coach of the Bucks this was something everyone knew would have to change if Villanueva wanted to see extended minutes on the court this season.

It took the first few months of the season, but Villanueva has now turned into an adequate enough defender to see the court for longer stretches and his new head coach is happy with the progress his young forward has made.

“He’s been able to become an adequate defender so that we can leave him on the floor longer,” Bucks head coach Scott Skiles grudgingly conceded to Hoops Addict after some prompting. “Everyone knows Charlie can score, that’s never been a question, but we want players that are going to go down and score and then not give it up on the other end. He’s worked hard enough and he knows our schemes well enough that he can stay in the game for longer stretches now because he’s a better defender.

“I still think he’s just scratching the surface there. I think he can be a much better defender than he currently is but he’s gotten himself to be good enough so that he can stay on the court for longer stretches.”

What has been frustrating for coaches and fans to see is Villanueva provide less than a full effort on the defensive end. With his wing span and athletic abilities he could easily be a strong player on the defensive end, he just seemed to only want to care about what happened on the other end of the court for most of his career.

“It’s not that Charlie’s not athletic because he’s more athletic than you think,” Skiles explained to the media. “A lot of it is just technique things like footwork, his body positioning in regards to the ball when he’s on the ball, he’s positioning when he’s off the ball defending. It’s all of those types of things. Like I said, he’s improved. There’s no question about it, but we need him to keep improving there. If he’s going to start and play big minutes (then) we need him to continue to improve.”

This was shown to perfection during the first half of a recent game against Toronto when Villanueva scored the first six points of the game for Milwaukee – and finished with a game high of 26 – but he also allowed Andrea Bargnani to score 13 points in the first quarter.

“It’s up and down,” Skiles vented to the media after the game. “This is typical of somebody who hasn’t put a whole lot of emphasis on his personal defense but is now trying too now. He had four or five good minutes and then four or five that weren’t as good. What encourages us is he’s listening and he’s getting better. So as long as we continue to see improvement we’ll remain hopeful that he can become an all-around player.”

So, is this change a permanent one or something just to see more minutes this season? Villanueva vows it’s the latter and this is all part of his progressions towards being an elite player in the NBA.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Villanueva admitted to Hoops Addict while laughing. “Coach is a defensive minded coach and he’s the type of guy where you have to play defense in order to stay on the court. I’ll play defense because I want to be on the floor.”

While Villanueva may not truly see the impact of defense besides it’s link to getting more minutes, this is still a start in the right direction. Playing under Skiles this season may just be the thing Villanueva needs to elevate his game to heights many predicted from him when he was a high lottery pick four years ago. But, for that to happen he needs to play hard on both ends of the court while learning how to become a presence on the defensive end.

If that happens, Villanueva will be laughing all the way to the bank this summer.

Photo Credit: ICON Sports Media