By Mitch Abramson
After enduring a pedestrian effort in the first half of the season, UConn's Charlie Villanueva, a former standout at Newtown HS, is playing some of the best basketball of his career. The Huskies, which fell to Syracuse in the Big East semifinals Friday, received a No. 2 seed in the Syracuse Region and will open Friday against Central Florida at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass. at approximately 2:45 p.m.Villanueva, a sophomore forward from Woodhaven, was selected to the All-Big East third team. He averaged 14.9 points and 9 rebounds in league play and led the conference in rebounding in Big East games.Rahshon Clark, a former standout from Beach Channel, plays for Iowa State, the No. 9 seed in the Syracuse region, and the Cyclones will face No. 8 Minnesota in the first round Friday at 12:30 p.m in Charlotte, N.C,.Springfield Gardens' resident Tarik Viaer-McClymont is a junior at Patriot League champion Bucknell, which received a No. 14 seed and will face third-seeded Kansas in a first round Syracuse Region game at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. The Bison and the Jayhawks will meet Friday around 9:50 p.m. Viaer-McClymont's grandmother's cousin's nephew is Knicks star Allan Houston.Former Springfield Gardens HS player Jason McLeish is a junior at Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels, seeded No. 15 in the Austin region, face second-seeded Kentucky Thursday at 12:20 p.m. Brandon Coles, a sophomore from East Elmhurst, is a 6-foot-5 forward at Delaware State, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions. The No. 16 Hornets are taking on No. 1 Duke in the opening round of the Austin bracket Friday at 7:25 p.m.Former Christ the King stars, sophomores Amanda LoCascio and Corinne Turner and their George Washington teammates earned the ninth seed in the Tempe Regional and will face the No. 8 seed Mississippi Sunday at 9:30 p.m. in the opening round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC.Shay Doron, also of Christ the King, and now a sophomore on No. 7 Maryland plays No. 10 Wisconsin-Green Bay in a Philadelphia region game on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.Former Christ the King star Clare Droesch, now a senior on Boston College is headed to the NCAA Tournament as BC earned the seventh seed in the Chattanooga region. The Eagles will take on the No. 10 Houston Cougars on Sunday in Chapel Hill, N.C. in the Chattanooga region at 2:30 p.m. SJU women pack NIT dancing shoesThe St. John's women's basketball team was selected to play in the National Invitation Tournament after posting a 19-10 record this season. The Red Storm will face Colonial Athletic Association regular season champ Delaware in the first round Thursday.The last time St. John's advanced further than the Big East tournament was 17 years ago when the Red Storm won the Big East title and made the NCAA tournament. St. John's won more games this season than they did the last two combined.Reach reporter Mitch Abramson by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
