William Joseph Varner is a former American-Belgian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played on several European clubs, including

R.C. Mechelen Racing Club Mechelen, or Racing Club Malines, was a Belgian professional basketball club from the city of Mechelen, Belgium. It was the men's basketball section of K.R.C. Mechelen. For sponsorship reasons, the club was also known as Maes Pils for ...

College career

Varner played

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 ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. After, a poor performance at his first two college years, Varner has 10 points per game at his junior season, and 11,1 points average at his senior season.

Professional career

Varner played at

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) during 1983–84 season, with

Sarasota Stingers The Columbus Horizon is a defunct basketball team from Columbus, Ohio that played for five seasons in the Continental Basketball Association from 1989 to 1994. History Plans to bring professional basketball to Columbus were unveiled in September ...

and

Wisconsin Flyers The Wisconsin Flyers were a professional basketball team based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. They were members of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1982 to 1987. The team relocated to Rochester, Minnesota at the conclusion ...

. In 1984 signed with

P.A.O.K. BC P.A.O.K. B.C. ( el, Κ.Α.Ε. Π.Α.Ο.Κ., Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessaloníkios Athlitikós Ómilos Konstantinopolitón'', "Pan-Thessalonikian Athletic Cl ...

. Varner played two years only in European Cup, but his contribution was fabulous. At 1984–85 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup second round PAOK eliminated

KK Bosna Royal KK Bosna Meridianbet ( bs, Košarkaški klub Bosna Meridianbet) is a professional basketball team based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the most successful Bosnian club of all time, having been the EuroLeague champion by winning the ...

and Varner scored 35 points at the first leg, and 31 at the second. At group stage PAOK lost all the games, but Varner shone with 36 and 32 points against

CB Zaragoza Club Baloncesto Zaragoza is a basketball team based in Zaragoza, Aragón, who played from 1981 to 1996 in the top Spanish league ( Liga ACB since 1983) and now plays in the 1ª División, the fifth tier. Most of the years in which the team playe ...

games, and 33 against

BC Žalgiris Basketball Club Žalgiris ( lt, Krepšinio klubas Žalgiris) is a professional basketball team that is based in Kaunas, Lithuania, and competes domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL, Lithuanian Basketball League). Founded in 1944, ...

in the away game. In 1985–86 season Varner

1985–86 FIBA Korać Cup First round Second round *The first leg was suspended in minute 9 (with Olympique Antibes winning 14–17) when one of the basket boards in Hagen's court was broken; although a replacement was quickly installed, ...

lead PAOK at group stage. At the first round after a 105–87 defeat from

BC Levski Sofia Basketball Club Levski Sofia ( bg, Баскетболен клуб Левски София), simply known as Levski ( bg, Левски), is a Bulgarian professional basketball club based in the capital Sofia. It is the basketball section of Levski ...

, Varner scored 36 points and a goal-foul at the last second of the second game and gave the victory to his team with 104–83. At group stage Varner scored 35 against Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino, 30 against

KK Zadar Košarkaški klub Zadar ( en, Zadar Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Zadar or simply Zadar, is a men's professional basketball club based in Zadar, Croatia. The club is a founding member and shareholder of the Adriatic Basketball Asso ...

, and 33 against his later club

Olympique Antibes Olympique Antibes, in full ''Olympique d'Antibes Juan-les-Pins'' and branded as Antibes Sharks, is a basketball club from the city of Antibes, France. Established in 1933, the club's men's senior team currently plays in LNB Pro B, the French s ...

. Varner was named

LNB Pro A MVP The LNB Pro A MVP is the MVP award of the top-tier level men's professional club basketball league in France, the LNB Pro A. Maxi-Basket holds the vote, and calls it the referendum. Player of the Year awards (before 1983) Before 1983, the title ...

foreigner player for his performance with

. His best season of his career was with

He played six years from 1989 to 1995 and he won 6 consecutive Belgian Championships, and 3 Belgian Cups. At European competitions his best average was 24,2 points for 1991–92 FIBA European League. He also scored 39 points against

CB Estudiantes Club Baloncesto Estudiantes, S.A.D., known simply as Estu and as Movistar Estudiantes for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball team based in the city of Madrid, Spain. It is a member of the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto (ACB). Founded in 19 ...

on 11 February 1993. Varner was like a hero in

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

. He also played in many clubs, such as

Montpellier Paillade Basket Montpellier Paillade Basket was a French basketball club, based in the city of Montpellier. The club has evolved among the elite of French basketball (N1A and Pro) for 14 seasons between 1989 and 2002, but was dissolved in 2002 after filing for ba ...

Valencia Basket Valencia Basket Club S.A.D., commonly known as Valencia Basket (), is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, with home games played at the Fuente de San Luis. The club is spon ...

Spirou Charleroi Spirou Charleroi, commonly known simply as Spirou, is a Belgian professional basketball club that is located in Charleroi. The club competes in the BNXT League, the highest tier of basketball in Belgium. The club's home arena is the Spiroudome wh ...

, and

Cantabria Baloncesto Cantabria Baloncesto was a professional basketball team who played during five seasons in Liga ACB. The team was also known as Cantabria Lobos. From 1975 to 2004 the team was based and played in Torrelavega, but after the 2003-04 season the Cant ...

end his career at the age of 42.

References

External links

at fibeurope.comat cholet-basket.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varner, Bill 1960 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American men's basketball players Atléticos de San Germán players Basketball players from Pennsylvania Cholet Basket players Cocodrilos de Caracas players Gaiteros del Zulia players Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Montpellier Paillade Basket players Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball players Olympique Antibes basketball players P.A.O.K. BC players Sarasota Stingers players Spirou Charleroi players Valencia Basket players Wisconsin Flyers players Small forwards