Chris A. Williams

Chris Williams
Player information
Full name	Christopher Anthony Williams
birthday	July 9, 1980
place of birth	Birmingham , Alabama , United States
date of death	March 15, 2017 at the age of 36 years and 249 days
Place of death	Birmingham , Alabama , United States
size	199 cm
position	Small forward
college	Virginia
Clubs as active
1998–2002 Virginia Cavaliers ( NCAA ) 2002–2003 Sydney Kings 2003–2005 Opel Skyliners 2005–2007 Mobis Phoebus ( KBL ) 2007–2008 Türk Telekomspor 2008–2010 Qingdao DoubleStar ( ChBA ) → 2009 San Miguel Beermen ( PBA ) 2010–2011 Mahram Tehran 2011–2012 Goyang Orions (KBL) 2012–2013 Foolad Mahan Isfahan 000

Christopher Anthony Williams (born July 9, 1980 in Birmingham , Alabama , † March 15, 2017 there ) was an American basketball player . The former junior national player was not selected in the entry draft of the highest endowed professional league NBA after completing his studies and initially played in the National Basketball League in Australia , before joining the German basketball league in 2003 with the Skyliners Frankfurt, with whom he became German champion in 2004 . From 2005, Williams played - with the exception of one season in Turkey, where he won the national cup competition in 2008 - mainly in East Asia in South Korean and Chinese professional leagues. Before ending his active career in 2013, he was also active for two seasons in Iran , where he won a championship like in South Korea.

Career

Williams went to study at the University of Virginia , where he played four seasons from 1998 in the college team Cavaliers in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of the NCAA . As " Freshman of the Year" of the important ACC, Williams was also appointed to the squad of the US junior selection, in which he also played with Casey Jacobsen , who played in the same position and later also became German champions with another club . At the Junior World Championships in Portugal in 1999 they won mostly all games, but lost the final 87:94 against a talented Spanish junior selection around Pau Gasol , Juan Carlos Navarro and Felipe Reyes . With the Cavaliers it was enough in addition to two first-round defeats in the National Invitation Tournament only to participate in the 2001 national NCAA finals , in which they surprisingly lost to the Bulldogs of Gonzaga University in the first round . In the Cavaliers' team, Williams ranks in the “All-Time Top Ten” in the categories scored points, rebounds and shot blocks . In the NBA Draft 2002 , Williams, unlike Casey Jacobsen, was not selected by any NBA club.

After graduating in 2002, Williams started a professional career in the National Basketball League (Australasia) for the Kings from Sydney . There he led the team as MVP of the league to the club's first championship. After the NBA Summer League with the San Antonio Spurs and a failed engagement in Japan , he was faced with an obligation by the runner-up and loser in the final Perth Wildcats, before moving to the Opel Skyliners from Frankfurt am Main in the German basketball league at the beginning of October 2003 . After the final defeat in the national cup competition in front of their home crowd, the Skyliners were able to prevail in the play-offs of the basketball Bundesliga 2003/04 in the three play-off rounds in the fifth and decisive game of a series and won against GHP in their first final series participation Bamberg their first championship. As champions, the Skyliners also took part in the highest-ranking European club competition ULEB Euroleague 2004/05 , in which they were eliminated after only four wins in 14 games after the preliminary round, although Williams was individually one of the five best point collectors and " ball thieves " of the competition. After taking fourth place in the final four tournament in the national cup competition in front of a home crowd, they once again reached the final series of the German championship as fourth in the main round and defending champion. In a new edition of last year's final series, GHP Bamberg was able to turn the tables in the fifth and decisive final game this time and for its part win the first championship title for the club. After the end of the season Williams moved to the Korean Basketball League (KBL) to Mobis Phoebus from Ulsan . As the main round first, however, you lost the 2006 final series in four games without a win. In the following season you won the main round first in the final series 2007 in seven games and thus the championship.

In the 2007/08 season Williams initially returned to FIBA Europe and played in the Türkiye Basketbol Ligi for Türk Telekomspor from Ankara , where he played with his former junior national team-mate Michael Wright , among others . As the main round fourth and national cup winner in 2008 they reached the play-off final series for the Turkish championship, which was lost after only one win in five games against defending champion Fenerbahçe Ülker . Williams then returned to East Asia and played for DoubleStar in the Chinese Basketball Association in Qingdao, China . In this league Williams was one of the best ball thieves in the league and on Christmas Day 2009 he managed a rare quadruple double with 15 points, eleven rebounds, eleven assists and eleven ball wins. However, the team played little successfully and missed the play-off finals in both seasons as one of the teams with the worst record of the season. For the 2010/11 season Williams moved to Iran for the first time to Mahram from the capital Tehran , who won the 2011 championship at the end of the season, but were defeated in the final of the Asian championship FIBA Asia Champions Cup as defending champions al-Riyadi Beirut. In the 2011/12 season Williams was once again active in the KBL for the Orions from Goyang , who missed the play-offs with a negative season record. Williams returned to Iran and played for Foolad Mahan from Isfahan . The team clearly lost the 2013 play-off semi-final series to their former club, defending champions Mahram Tehran. When the team then won the Asia Champions Cup 2013, Williams had already ended his active career.

Chris A. Williams died of blood clots in his heart on March 15, 2017 in the city of birth, Birmingham .

Web links

• Williams, Chris . Player profile on the website of the Union des Ligues Européennes de Basketball (ULEB) , (English)
• easyCredit BBL - Christopher Williams - player profile on the easyCredit Basketball-Bundesliga website
• College Basketball: Players: Virginia: # 33 Chris Williams. statsheet.com, archived from the original on July 10, 2014 ; accessed on March 17, 2017 (English). 

Individual evidence

1. ^ Players - Christopher Anthony Williams (USA). FIBA , accessed on March 17, 2017 (English, overview of tournament participation in the statistics archive). 
2. ↑ 1999 World Championship for Junior Men - Box Score - Game: USA vs Spain. FIBA , July 25, 1999, accessed on March 17, 2017 (English, game statistics). 
3. ↑ UVa Men's Basketball Record Book. University of Virginia , accessed July 5, 2014 . 
4. ↑ Michael Cowley: Former Kings star Williams may yet be a wildcard for the Wildcats. Sydney Morning Herald , September 12, 2003, accessed March 17, 2017 . 
5. ↑ Skyliners test Williams. Press release from Opel Skyliners at Schoenen-Dunk.de, October 2, 2003, accessed on March 17, 2017 . 
6. ↑ Bjarne Tannen: Ten years ago today: We are German champions! (No longer available online.) Skyliners Frankfurt , June 13, 2014, archived from the original on March 17, 2017 ; accessed on March 17, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ↑ NN: Regular Season, 2004-05. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014 ; accessed on February 27, 2019 .  Archived from the EuroLeague website; Barcelona, ​​May 21, 2009 (in English).
8. ↑ Christopher Williams - Turkish Basketball League Player: 2007-2008 Season. TBLStat.net, accessed on July 5, 2014 (English, seasonal statistics). 
9. ↑ 威廉姆斯 砍 四 双 助 青岛 首 胜 杜 万 低迷 东莞 遭 三 连败. Sina.com , December 25, 2009, accessed March 17, 2017 (Chinese). What is ... Chris Williams doing? (PDF, 3.7 MB) Tip-off - The Skybembels Frankfurt fan magazine, No. 3 2009/2010, January 13, 2010, pp. 14–15 , accessed on March 17, 2017 . 
    
10. ^ Asian Club Championships 2011 - Men Basketball. Asia-Basket.com, archived from the original on July 10, 2014 ; accessed on March 17, 2017 (English, competition summary). 
11. ↑ Jamie Oakes: Virginia Basketball loses a legend, Chris Williams passes away at 36. (No longer available online.) 247Sports.com , March 15, 2017, archived from the original on March 17, 2017 ; accessed on March 17, 2017 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Former Cavalier Chris Williams Passes Away. University of Virginia , March 15, 2017, accessed March 17, 2017 .