High School

Wisconsin mourns the passing of its greatest high school basketball legend

Former Kohler High star Joe Wolf was 59

Gary Adornato

Joe Wolf, who led Milwaukee's Kohler high school to three Wisconsin state championships between 1983-1987, has died at the age of 59.
Joe Wolf, who led Milwaukee's Kohler high school to three Wisconsin state championships between 1983-1987, has died at the age of 59. / Rick Wood / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Joe Wolf, a legendary figure in Wisconsin high school basketball, who led Kohler High to three Wisconsin state basketball championships, has died of an apparent heart attack. He was 59.

The news was broken on Thursday by a post on X from Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook editor Mark Miller and later confirmed by the Milwaukee Bucks. At the time of his death, Wolf was an assistant coach with the Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks' G-League affiliate.

Wolf had an 11 year NBA career after being selected with the 13th overall pick, by the Los Angeles Clippers, in the 1987 NBA Draft. He played with nine different NBA teams including Milwaukee during the 1996-97 season. This came after a brilliant four-year college career at the University of North Carolina.

"The Milwaukee Bucks and Wisconsin Herd are deeply saddened by the unexpected passing of Herd assistant coach and Kohler native Joe Wolf," said the statement from the Bucks. "Throughout his life, Joe touched many lives and was a highly respected, adored and dedicated coach and player across the NBA. His well-regarded talent was instrumental for the Bucks and Herd over eight years with the organization, including as a player and coach."

Before he became an All-ACC selection at North Carolina and a NBA player and coach, Wolf was a high school legend at Kohler.

In a 2005 poll by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wolf was voted the greatest high school basketball player in Wisconsin history.

"With his size and skills, he was the best I've seen," Win Parkinson, who coached at Milwaukee Tech for 33 seasons, told the Journal Sentinel in 2005. "He was in the state tournament at the same time we were and I went to see him play at Sheboygan.

"He had a heck of a following and a heck of a career. I just look at him as one of the most complete players I've ever seen."

Published |Modified
Gary Adornato
GARY ADORNATO

Gary Adornato began covering high school sports with the Baltimore Sun in 1982, while still a mass communications major at Towson University, and in 2003 became one of the first journalists to cover high school sports online while operating MIAASports.com, the official website of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association. Later, Adornato pioneered market-wide coverage of high school sports with DigitalSports.com, introducing video highlights and player interviews while assembling an award-winning editorial staff. In 2010, he launched VarsitySportsNetwork.com which became the premier source of high school media coverage in the state of Maryland. In 2022, he sold VSN to The Baltimore Banner and joined SBLive Sports as the company's East Coast Managing Editor.

Home/Wisconsin