Wisconsin High School Basketball Team Named Gym After Late NBA Player

Kohler, a Wisconsin high school basketball team competing in the Big East-South Conference, named their gymnasium after the late Joe Wolf, who passed away last September at 59. The 11-year National Basketball Association veteran was a 1983 high school All-American for the Blue Bombers before playing for Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina.

The late Kohler legend’s family, including his brother Jeff Wolf, attended the ceremony. The attendees also heard messages from Kohler Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Kohler. Retired Milwaukee Bucks broadcaster Jim Paschke also shared his thoughts about the 1983 Wisconsin Mr. Basketball winner.

Some attendees also donned replicas of Wolf’s Kohler jersey and caps bearing his jersey number. They were treated to a tribute video for Wolf and the revelation of a mural bearing Wolf’s image in a Kohler jersey.

Wolf became a Tar Heels team captain and a 1987 First-Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference member after averaging 15.2 points and 7.1 rebounds in 34 games. The year before, he averaged ten points and 6.6 rebounds per game. While in North Carolina, he played with other future NBA players, such as Kenny Smith, Sam Perkins, and Michael Jordan.

After playing out his college basketball eligibility with the Tar Heels, the Los Angeles Clippers selected him 13^th overall in the 1987 NBA Draft. Wolf also played for the Denver Nuggets (1990-92), Boston Celtics (1992), and Portland Trail Blazers (1992-93).

After stints with those NBA teams, Wolf suited up for Spain’s Club Baloncesto Leon. He returned to the NBA after signing with the Charlotte Hornets before playing for the Orlando Magic and his hometown Milwaukee Bucks. Wolf had second stints with the Nuggets and the Hornets before retiring in 1999. He had 2,485 points and 1,933 rebounds throughout his NBA career.

Four years later, he started his coaching career as an assistant for William & Mary. He stayed close to basketball via coaching stints with his college alma mater, the Bucks, and the Brooklyn Nets, among others. His last coaching duty was with the NBA G League’s Wisconsin Herd.

Meanwhile, the current batch of Kohler players must have been inspired by the renaming of their gym, as they dominated Sheboygan Falls in their Wisconsin high school basketball season opener 86-25.