A few minutes after UConn was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament in late March, Jim Calhoun was talking about next season.

The Huskies needed another wing and some more size, the coach said.

They were already assured of fortification from Los Angeles guard Marcus Williams and Josh Boone, a big forward from Maryland, but more was needed.

More arrived Thursday.

Charlie Villanueva, a 6-foot-10, 220-pound forward from Brooklyn, withdrew his name from consideration for the NBA draft and will attend UConn in the fall.

"The fact that he was going to UConn made it easier for him to decide," said Gary Charles, Villanueva's AAU coach and one of his mentors. "Playing in the NBA has always been a dream for him and he didn't want to have any regrets, but at the end of the day it was between waiting to get drafted or playing X number of seasons at UConn and then he could be a lottery pick. The fact that he would be playing at UConn made it easier."

Villanueva joins Williams, Boone and forwards Ryan Thompson and Ed Nelson, a transfer from Georgia Tech who must sit out a season, in one of the nation's strongest recruiting classes.