Joe Wolf, who played for North Carolina and seven NBA teams, died at age 59

Joe Wolf, a former North Carolina captain for Dean Smith who went on to play for seven teams in an 11-year NBA career before becoming a coach, passed away.

Joe Wolf, a former North Carolina captain for Dean Smith who played for seven teams in the NBA before becoming a coach, died unexpectedly on Thursday, according to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Wolf, an assistant coach with the Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks’ G League club, 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 announcing Wolf’s passing.

“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 attending the Tar Heels, where he played alongside Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins. Wolf co-captained the Tar Heels as a senior in 1986-87, alongside Kenny Smith.

Wolf led North Carolina to a 115-22 record over four seasons, reaching the Sweet 16 twice and the Elite Eight twice. Wolf, a 6-foot-11 center and forward, easily transitioned into coaching after his NBA career, relying on talents he said Smith instilled in him from the start of his college experience.

“I like to think I started getting trained the minute I stepped on campus,” Wolf told the Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record in 2018. “Coach Smith was all about developing the right habits.” That helps me today.”

In 1987, he was named All-ACC and finished his career at North Carolina with 1,231 points. Wolf was selected with the 13th choice in the 1987 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers.

He spent his first three NBA seasons there before moving on to play for Denver, Charlotte, Orlando, Portland, Boston, and Milwaukee, returning to his home state of Wisconsin, where he was a high school legend.

Wolf led Kohler High School to three Wisconsin state titles, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ranked him the greatest high school basketball player in state history in 2005, according to the Bucks.

He coached collegiate basketball as an assistant at William & Mary and UNC Wilmington, was a head coach in what is now known as the G League with Idaho, Colorado, and Greensboro, worked as an NBA assistant for Milwaukee and Brooklyn, and was hired as a G League assistant by the Herd in 2023.