Joe Wolf, a former captain for Dean Smith at North Carolina who went on to play for seven teams in an 11-year NBA career before becoming a coach, died unexpectedly Thursday, the Milwaukee Bucks announced.
Wolf, an assistant coach for the Wisconsin Herd — the Bucks’ G League affiliate — was 59.
“Throughout his life, Joe touched many lives and was a highly respected, adored and dedicated coach and player across the NBA,” the Bucks said in a statement. “His well-regarded talent was instrumental for the Bucks and Herd over eight years with the organization, including as a player and coach.”
Wolf was a high school All-American in 1983 before joining the Tar Heels to play alongside the likes of Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins. Wolf was a co-captain for the Tar Heels as a senior in 1986-87, sharing that role with Kenny Smith.
North Carolina went 115-22 in Wolf’s four seasons, making the Sweet 16 twice and the Elite Eight twice in that span. Wolf — a 6-foot-11 center and forward — quickly moved into coaching once his NBA career was done, using skills he said Dean Smith began instilling in him from the start of his college experience.
Wolf was an All-ACC selection in 1987 and left North Carolina with 1,231 points. The LA Clippers used the No. 13 pick in the 1987 draft on Wolf, who spent his first three NBA seasons there before later playing for Denver, Charlotte, Orlando, Portland, Boston and Milwaukee — a return to his home state of Wisconsin, where he led Kohler High School to three state championships.
He coached at the college level as an assistant at William & Mary and UNC Wilmington, was a head coach in what is now called the G League with Idaho, Colorado and Greensboro, had been an NBA assistant for Milwaukee and Brooklyn and was hired in 2023 as a G League assistant for the Herd.
