Christian Ansgar Welp (January 2, 1964 – March 1, 2015) was a German professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. During his playing career, he was a ,

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. He played three seasons in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

. He was the

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the

1993 EuroBasket The 1993 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1993, was the 28th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Germany between 22 June and 4 July 1993. Sixteen national teams entered ...

College career

Welp became the leading scorer in

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...

history, as a

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

player. He scored 2,073 points for the Huskies, and was a three-time All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

Conference selection. Welp was the Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1986, and helped lead the Huskies to consecutive conference regular-season titles. Welp was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame, in 2001.

Professional career

NBA

Welp was selected 16th overall, in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA)'s 1987 draft, by the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

, and he played three seasons in the NBA. In December 1987, he slipped on a wet court in Chicago, the night after a Blackhawks' hockey game. Welp remembered, "There was condensation on the floor, and the ball boys were mopping the floor the whole game," and the injury "was so severe, my knee never got back to the level it was before. But no excuses." He was traded by the 76ers, along with

Maurice Cheeks Maurice Edward Cheeks (born September 8, 1956) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who serves as assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has also served as head coach of t ...

and David Wingate, to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

, in exchange for

Johnny Dawkins Johnny Earl Dawkins Jr. (born September 28, 1963) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the UCF men's basketball team. From 2008 to 2016, he was the head coach of Stanford. He was a two-time All-American ...

and

Jay Vincent Jay Fletcher Vincent (born June 10, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'7" forward, Vincent played at Michigan State University under coach, Jud Heathcote, where he teamed with Magic Johnson and Greg Kelser to win ...

, during the off-season of 1989. He was used sparingly by the Spurs, before being traded to the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

, in exchange for

Uwe Blab Uwe Konstantin Blab (born March 26, 1962) is a German former professional basketball player who had a five-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). High School and College Blab attended Effingham High School in Illinois, which ...

(another German-born NBA center), at the trade deadline, during the 1989–90 NBA season. After a handful of games with the Warriors, his NBA career ended.

Europe

From 1990 to 1996, Welp played in Germany, with

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, th ...

, with which he won six German national league championships and three German Cups. For the 1996–97 season, Welp played with the Greek League club

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

, winning the EuroLeague title with them (and also the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

). In the 1997–98 season, he played with the German league club

Alba Berlin Alba Berlin is a German professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Mercedes ...

. He also played with the

Italian league The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

club

Viola Reggio Calabria Viola Reggio Calabria was an Italian professional basketball club based in Reggio Calabria, Calabria. At its heyday the club was renowned for discovering talented players who would go on to play at the highest level, for example five former pla ...

, during the 1998–99 season.

National team career

Welp won the gold medal at the

EuroBasket 1993 The 1993 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1993, was the 28th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Germany between 22 June and 4 July 1993. Sixteen national teams entered ...

, as a player for the senior Germany national team. He scored the decisive last points in the tournament's final. He was voted MVP of that tournament.

Coaching career

Welp worked as an assistant

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

for the senior Germany national team until 2006.

Personal life and death

After Welp retired from playing professional basketball in 1999, he lived in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, with his wife, Melanie, and three children. He worked at a construction-supply business in Woodinville, for Tim Burnham, a former football player, with whom he had become friends during college. Welp died on March 1, 2015, of heart failure. He was at a vacation home on

Hood Canal Hood Canal is a fjord forming the western lobe, and one of the four main basins,UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball The UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents the University of California, Irvine. The team currently competes in the Big West Conference, NCAA Division I. UC Irvine basketball is in its ninth year under ...

team.

References

External links

NBA stats
@ databasebasketball.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Welp, Christian 1964 births 2015 deaths Alba Berlin players Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Centers (basketball) FIBA EuroBasket-winning players German basketball coaches German expatriate basketball people in the United States German expatriates in Greece German expatriates in Italy Golden State Warriors players Greek Basket League players National Basketball Association players from Germany German men's basketball players Olympiacos B.C. players Olympic basketball players of West Germany People from Delmenhorst Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players San Antonio Spurs players Sportspeople from Lower Saxony Basketball players from Seattle Viola Reggio Calabria players Washington Huskies men's basketball players 1986 FIBA World Championship players