Joseph James Wolf (December 17, 1964 – September 26, 2024) was an American 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 (appro ...

player and coach. Wolf played eleven seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) for seven different teams. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

, where in 1987 he was named first-team All-ACC. Prior to UNC, Wolf was one of the most successful high school players in Wisconsin state history.

Early life

Wolf was born on December 17, 1964, and raised in Kohler, Wisconsin. He led Kohler High School to three Wisconsin state basketball championships. In February 2005, a vote was conducted by the ''

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

'' to select the all-time Wisconsin high school boys basketball team. As a result of this vote. Wolf was named Wisconsin's all-time greatest high school basketball player based on his dominant four-year performance at Kohler High School. He played

at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

and reached the

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

all four years under coach Dean Smith. He earned the Carmichael-Cobb Award as UNC's outstanding defensive player and the Jimmie Dempsey Award as UNC's overall statistical leader as a senior in 1987. Lastly, he was elected ACC First Team and ACC All-Tournament Team.

Professional career

Wolf played in the

(NBA). He was the 13th overall pick of the 1987 NBA draft, selected by the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

. He averaged 4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game throughout an 11-year professional career.

Post-playing career

Wolf served as head coach of the Idaho Stampede of the CBA and the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League. He also worked with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

as an assistant coach to

Scott Skiles Scott Allen Skiles Sr. (born March 5, 1964) is an American former basketball coach and player. He coached the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic. A first-round draft pick out of Michigan State University, Skiles played ...

.Colorado 14ers Head Coach and General Manager Joe Wolf Accepts Assistant Coaching Job with Milwaukee Bucks
For the 2014–15 season, Wolf was hired by the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

as an assistant to new head coach Lionel Hollins. In his first season with the team, Wolf and the coaching staff helped lead the Brooklyn Nets to the Eastern Conference Playoffs. After one season as an assistant at UNC Wilmington, he was hired as the head coach of the Greensboro Swarm of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

, the affiliate of the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

. On June 30, 2020, the Swarm did not extend Wolf's contract. On October 5, 2023, Wolf was hired as an assistant coach by the Wisconsin Herd of the

Death

Wolf died on September 26, 2024, at the age of 59.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" , L. A. Clippers , 42 , , 26 , , 27.1 , , .407 , , .200 , , .833 , , 4.5 , , 2.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.4 , , 7.6 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" , L. A. Clippers , 66 , , 15 , , 22.0 , , .423 , , .143 , , .688 , , 4.1 , , 1.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 5.8 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" , L. A. Clippers , 77 , , 19 , , 17.2 , , .395 , , .200 , , .775 , , 3.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 4.8 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, 74 , , 38 , , 21.5 , , .451 , , .133 , , .831 , , 5.4 , , 1.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 7.3 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" ,

, 67 , , 0 , , 17.3 , , .361 , , .091 , , .803 , , 3.6 , , 0.9 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 3.8 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 2 , , 0 , , 4.5 , , .000 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" , Portland , 21 , , 0 , , 7.4 , , .465 , , .000 , , .857 , , 2.1 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 2.5 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" , Charlotte , 63 , , 6 , , 9.3 , , .469 , , .333 , , .750 , , 2.0 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 1.4 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" , Charlotte , 1 , , 0 , , 18.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" , Orlando , 63 , , 8 , , 16.6 , , .515 , , .000 , , .724 , , 2.9 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 56 , , 7 , , 9.4 , , .449 , , .143 , , .737 , , 2.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 1.7 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" ,

, 57 , , 8 , , 10.9 , , .331 , , .200 , , .500 , , 2.2 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 1.5 , - , align="left" , 1998–99 , align="left" , Charlotte , 3 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 592 , , 127 , , 16.3 , , .423 , , .164 , , .770 , , 3.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 4.2

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" , Portland , 2 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 1.0 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" , Charlotte , 1 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" , Orlando , 11 , , 0 , , 7.7 , , .348 , , .333 , , .750 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 1.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 14 , , 0 , , 7.7 , , .360 , , .333 , , .750 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 1.6

College

, - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, 30 , , – , , 13.7 , , .481 , , – , , .758 , , 2.8 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 3.4 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 30 , , – , , 30.5 , , .566 , , – , , .781 , , 5.3 , , 1.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 9.1 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" ,

, 34 , , 34 , , 25.1 , , .532 , , – , , .712 , , 6.6 , , 2.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 10.0 , - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

, 34 , , 34 , , 29.6 , , .571 , , .575 , , .793 , , 7.1 , , 2.9 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 15.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 128 , , 68 , , 24.9 , , .551 , , .575 , , .765 , , 5.5 , , 1.9 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 9.6

References

External links

Career stats
@ basketballreference.com
NBA coach file
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf, Joe 1964 births 2024 deaths American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Baloncesto León players Basketball coaches from Wisconsin Basketball players from Wisconsin Boston Celtics players Brooklyn Nets assistant coaches Centers (basketball) Charlotte Hornets players Colorado 14ers coaches Denver Nuggets players Greensboro Swarm coaches Idaho Stampede (CBA) coaches Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Los Angeles Clippers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Milwaukee Bucks assistant coaches Milwaukee Bucks players North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Orlando Magic players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Kohler, Wisconsin Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards UNC Wilmington Seahawks men's basketball coaches William & Mary Tribe men's basketball coaches Wisconsin Herd coaches 20th-century American sportsmen