The Milwaukee Bucks announced that Joe Wolf, Dean Smith's former North Carolina State captain and coach who played for seven teams during his 11-year NBA career, died suddenly on Thursday.
Wolff, an assistant coach with the Bucs' G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, was 59 years old.
“Joe touched many lives throughout his life and was a highly respected, respected and dedicated coach and player throughout the NBA,” the Bucks said in a release announcing Wolfe's death. “His highly regarded talent served the Bucks and Herd throughout his eight years with the organization, including as a player and coach.”
Wolfe was a high school All-American in 1983 before joining the Tar Heels to play alongside Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins.
Wolfe served as co-captain of the Tar Heels as a senior in 1986-1987, sharing the role with Kenny Smith.
North Carolina State went 115-22 in Wolf's four seasons, reaching the Sweet 16 twice and the Elite Eight twice during that span.
Wolf, a 6-foot-11 center and forward, moved into coaching immediately after his NBA career, taking advantage of the skills Smith began instilling in him from the beginning of his college career.
“I think I started training from the moment I stepped on campus,” Wolf told the Greensboro (N.C.) News and Record in 2018. “Coach Smith was focused on building good habits, and that has benefited me today.”
He was named All-ACC in 1987 and left North Carolina with 1,231 points.
The Los Angeles Clippers selected Wolf with the 13th pick in the 1987 draft. Wolf spent his first three seasons in the NBA, then played in Denver, Charlotte, Orlando, Portland, Boston, and Milwaukee before returning to his home state of Wisconsin. He was a legend in high school.
According to the Bucs, Wolf led Kohler High School to three Wisconsin state championships, and in 2005, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel named him the greatest high school basketball player in state history.
He coached at the collegiate level as an assistant at William & Mary and UNC Wilmington, was a head coach in what is now called the G League in Idaho, Colorado and Greensboro, and was an NBA assistant in Milwaukee and Brooklyn. He was hired in 2023. As Hurd's G League assistant.
