STORRS, Conn., Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Heralded Connecticut freshman forward Charlie Villanueva will make his debut on Saturday against Army after he was cleared by the NCAA.
Connecticut held out Villanueva from a pair of exhibition games and its first six regular-season contests due to a possible violation for workouts in front of NBA scouts in the offseason.
The Huskies went 5-1 without him.
The 6-11, 230-pound Villanueva is a McDonald's All-American from Brooklyn and was projected as a first-round pick last summer. Villanueva was co-New Jersey state Player of the Year with teammate Luol Deng, a Duke freshman, last season at Blair Academy.
Villanueva entered the NBA draft before withdrawing just before the June 19 deadline. He originally verbally committed to Illinois before coach Bill Self left for Kansas.
