Career: Osiris Aalost (Belgium-D1, 1995-98), US Valenciennes Olympique (France-LFB, 1998-2004), CSKA Samara (Russia-Superleague, 2004-08)
Ann Wauters is not only the star of the Belgian team, she’s also one of the biggest basketball figures in Europe. In every recent EuroLeague Women Final Four, you can count on seeing Ann Wauters' name on one of the rosters. To be exact, 2007 marked the seventh consecutive time that the Belgian international was a semi-finalist.
She played in the semis with USVO from 2001-2004 and with CSKA Samara from 2005-2007. Out of the seven Final Fours she has played in, Wauters' teams won the title three times (2002 and 2004 with Valenciennes and 2005 with Samara) and were runner-up three other times (2001 and 2003 with Valenciennes and 2006 with Samara). She was named the MVP on four separate occasions (‘01, ‘02, ‘03, ‘04). No player in modern history has played in seven consecutive Final Fours.
Wauters played seven seasons with the French club Valenciennes. There, the center furnished her trophy cabinet with four National Titles (‘01, ‘02, ‘03, ‘04), three French Cups (‘01, ‘03, ‘04), two French Federation tournament titles (‘02, ‘03) and of course two EuroLeague Women crowns. The first came in 2002 with Valenciennes where the center averaged 23 points and nearly nine rebounds per game and the second in 2004.
During her first season with Samara, Wauters won her third EuroLeague Women. Throughout her career, Wauters has made solid and consistent play hallmark. In her first EuroLeague Women campaign in 2001, she finished as the top scorer with 20.9 ppg and her six other European campaigns have been just about as good (see stats below for proof). This season was the first time that Ann Wauters did not play in the final of the EuroLeague Women as CSKA went down to Spartak Moscow in the semis. Samara finished third, but Wauters and CSKA did prevail in the Russian Cup.
Of course, the 1.95 meter center also shines while playing for her country. In 2003, Wauters led Belgium to their first EuroBasket Women appearance since 1985. At EuroBasket Women 2003 in Greece, she flourished, averaging 18.8 points per game, third-best in the tournament. She was also a key player in the campaign to qualify Belgium for EuroBasket Women 2007 when she averaged 23.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per contest in last year’s qualifying round.
As you would guess, Wauters has numerous awards to her credit including being named the Best Foreign Player of the French League in 2001 and 2002. She also finished fourth in the FIBA Europe 2005 Player of the Year award voting and second in 2006.
