Christian Ast

Christian Ralph Ast (born 20 July 1971) is a German former professional basketball player. He played college basketball in the United States for the Duke Blue Devils and American Eagles. Ast won two NCAA championships with the Blue Devils in 1991 and 1992. He played professionally in Germany.

Early life Ast is a native of Heidelberg, Germany. Ast grew up playing field hockey and only began playing basketball at the age of 15 because he was "sick of bending down." Ast played well in a scrimmage game against DeMatha Catholic High School and an opposing coach recommended him to Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils. On 5 March 1990, Ast committed to play for the Blue Devils.

College basketball career Ast averaged 2.2 points in 3.8 minutes per game during his freshman season with the Duke Blue Devils. Ast averaged 1.1 points per game in 13 appearances during the 1991–92 season. In May 1992, Ast left Duke as he desired to play more regularly and transferred to the American Eagles. He debuted for the Eagles during the 1993–94 season and averaged 9.9 points per game. East Carolina Pirates head coach Eddie Payne called Ast "a poor man's Larry Bird".

Professional career Ast played for USC Heidelberg during the 2001–02 season after playing for Ratiopharm Ulm the previous season.

Personal life Ast is fluent in German, English and French.