Chris Welp

{{Infobox basketball biography

|name = Christian Welp

|image =

|image_size =

|caption =

|position =

|league =

|team =

|height_ft = 7

|height_in = 0

|weight_lb = 245

|birth_date = {{birth date|1964|1|2}}

|birth_place = Delmenhorst, West Germany

|death_date = {{death date and age|2015|3|1|1964|1|2}}

|death_place = Hood Canal, Washington, U.S.

|high_school = Olympic (Silverdale, Washington)

|college = Washington (1983–1987)

|draft_year = 1987

|draft_round = 1

|draft_pick = 16

|draft_team = Philadelphia 76ers

|career_start = 1987

|career_end = 1999

|career_number = 44, 42, 40

|career_position = Center

|coach_start =

|coach_end =

|years1 = {{nbay|1987|start}}–{{nbay|1988|end}}

|team1 = Philadelphia 76ers

|years2 = {{nbay|1989|full=y}}

|team2 = San Antonio Spurs

|years3 = {{nbay|1989|end}}

|team3 = Golden State Warriors

|years4 = 1990–1996

|team4 = TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen

|years5 = 1996–1997

|team5 = Olympiacos

|years6 = 1997–1998

|team6 = Alba Berlin

|years7 = 1999

|team7 = Viola Reggio Calabria

|highlights =

EuroLeague champion (1997)
Greek League champion (1997)
Greek Cup winner (1997)
7× German League champion (1991–1996, 1998)
3× German Cup winner (1991, 1993, 1995)
Pac-10 Player of the Year (1986)
3× First-team All-Pac-10 (1985–1987)
Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (1984)
EuroBasket MVP (1993)

|bbr = welpch01

|medal_templates =

{{MedalCountry|{{flagicon|GER}} Germany}}

}}

Christian Ansgar Welp (January 2, 1964 – March 1, 2015) was a German professional basketball player. During his playing career, he was a {{cvt|213|cm|ftin}}, {{cvt|111|kg}} center. He played three seasons in the NBA. He was the MVP of the 1993 EuroBasket.

College career

Welp became the leading scorer in Washington Huskies history, as a college basketball player. He scored 2,073 points for the Huskies, and was a three-time All-Pac-10 Conference selection.{{cite web|date=March 2, 2015|title=Christian Welp, Washington Huskies career scoring leader, dies at 51 - ESPN|url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/12406061|access-date=March 25, 2021|work=ESPN.com|agency=Associated Press}} 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.[http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/sept01/fame.html Welp, Shannon Head List of Husky Hall of Fame Inductees.], University of Washington Alumni Magazine.{{cite news|last=Allen|first=Percy|title=Washington basketball great Christian Welp dies at 51|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-basketball/uw-basketball-great-christian-welp-dies-at-51/|access-date=March 10, 2022|work=The Seattle Times|date=March 1, 2015}}

Professional career

=NBA=

Welp was selected 16th overall, in the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1987 draft, by the Philadelphia 76ers, 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.{{cite news|last=Raley|first=Dan|title=Where Are They Now: Christian Welp|url=https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/where-are-they-now-christian-welp-1133941.php|access-date=November 23, 2017|work=Seattle Post Intelligencer|date=January 6, 2004}} 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 and David Wingate, to the San Antonio Spurs, in exchange for Johnny Dawkins and Jay Vincent, during the off-season of 1989.{{cite web|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/craig/draft/1996_draft/draft/28.html|title=28. Seattle Sonics|website=www.ibiblio.org|access-date=Jan 9, 2007}}

He was used sparingly by the Spurs, before being traded to the Golden State Warriors, in exchange for Uwe Blab (another German-born NBA center), at the trade deadline, during the 1989–90 NBA season.[http://n-c-systems.com/hoops/AllTransactions/ByYear/1990.php 1990 NBA Transactions] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928072806/http://n-c-systems.com/hoops/AllTransactions/ByYear/1990.php|date=September 28, 2007}}, retrieved January 9, 2007. After a handful of games with the Warriors, his NBA career ended.

=Europe=

From 1990 to 1996, Welp played in Germany, with Bayer Leverkusen, 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, winning the EuroLeague title with them[http://www.basket-stats.info/euroleague/1996-1997/teams/olympiakos.htm Olympiakos roster 1996–97] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061011205357/http://www.basket-stats.info/euroleague/1996-1997/teams/olympiakos.htm|date=October 11, 2006}} @ basket-stats.info, retrieved Jan 9, 2007 (and also the Triple Crown). In the 1997–98 season, he played with the German league club Alba Berlin.[http://www.basket-stats.info/euroleague/1997-1998/teams/alba.htm ALBA Berlin roster 1997–98] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705100336/http://www.basket-stats.info/euroleague/1997-1998/teams/alba.htm|date=July 5, 2007}} @ basket-stats.info, retrieved Jan 9, 2007.

He also played with the Italian league club Viola Reggio Calabria, during the 1998–99 season.{{cite web|url=http://195.56.77.208/player/?id=WEL-CHR|title=Legabasket|work=77.208|access-date=March 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402150258/http://195.56.77.208/player/?id=WEL-CHR|archive-date=April 2, 2015|url-status=dead}}

National team career

Welp won the gold medal at the EuroBasket 1993, as a player for the senior Germany national team. He scored the decisive last points in the tournament's final.{{cite news|title=Former European champion Welp dead at 51|url=http://ca.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idCAKBN0LY0TJ20150302|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303092703/http://ca.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idCAKBN0LY0TJ20150302|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 3, 2015|access-date=March 2, 2015|agency=Reuters|date=March 2, 2015}} He was voted MVP of that tournament.{{cite news|last=Kalwa|first=Jürgen|title=Der EinzelgängerZum Tod von Basketballer Christian Welp|url=https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/der-einzelgaenger-zum-tod-von-basketballer-christian-welp-100.html|access-date=March 10, 2022|work=Deutschlandfunk|date=March 2, 2015|language=de}}

Coaching career

Welp worked as an assistant basketball coach 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, Washington, 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.{{cite news|last=Withers|first=Bud|title=UW great Christian Welp died at Hood Canal vacation home, friend says|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-basketball/uw-great-christian-welp-died-at-vacation-home-near-hood-canal-friend-says/|access-date=November 23, 2017|work=The Seattle Times|date=March 2, 2015}}

Welp died on March 1, 2015, of heart failure.{{cite news|title=Germany hero Welp dies at 51|url=https://www.fiba.basketball/news/germany-hero-welp-dies-at-51|access-date=March 2, 2015|work=FIBA.basketball}} He was at a vacation home on Hood Canal, that he had purchased just after being drafted in 1987. He had been complaining of chest pains, and was planning to see a doctor. Welp's sons Collin and Nic both practiced basketball with their father;{{cite web|last=Drowley|first=Doug|date=2020-02-27|title=It took awhile for Seattle Prep's Nic Welp to grow, but now that he has, he's the man inside|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/high-school/it-took-awhile-for-seattle-preps-nick-welp-to-grow-but-now-that-he-has-hes-the-man-inside/|access-date=December 30, 2020|work=The Seattle Times}} Collin later played for the UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team.{{cite web|date=December 4, 2019|title=UC Irvine's Collin Welp credits late father Christian for his success|last=Morales|first=Robert|url=https://www.ocregister.com/2019/12/03/uc-irvines-collin-welp-credits-late-father-christian-for-his-success|access-date=November 15, 2023|work=Orange County Register}}

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20070207142824/http://www.databasebasketball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=WelpCh01 NBA stats] @ databasebasketball.com

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Category:1964 births

Category:2015 deaths

Category:Alba Berlin players

Category:Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics

Category:Bayer Giants Leverkusen players

Category:Centers (basketball)

Category:FIBA EuroBasket–winning players

Category:German basketball coaches

Category:German expatriate basketball people in the United States