Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook is presented by The Casual Pint. YOUR place for delicious pub food paired with local beer. Choose among 35 rotating taps and 200+ beers in the cooler.
Joe Wolf could have gotten lost in his own family.
In a college basketball program festooned with super stars and steady Eddies, Wolf knew what it would be like joining the Tar Heels in the fall of 1983.
They had won Dean Smith’s first national championship the year before and just missed returning to the Final Four the prior season. But Joe knew why he turned down Marquette’s big push in his home-state Wisconsin.
He was comfortable in a crowd, the youngest of seven children to Pat and Leo Wolf. His seven-year-older brother Jeff had played four years for the Tar Heels, graduating in 1980 on a roster including Phil Ford. And his kid brother was a freshman on a top-ranked team led by Michael Jordan.
Young Joe was just as comfortable coming to Chapel Hill. The 6-9 forward joined a heralded freshman class that included fellow big man Dave Popson and Kenny “The Jet” Smith, just as highly recruited and highly sought.
“Every time I turned around, someone wanted to know where I was going to school,” said Wolf, who died unexpectedly last week at the age of 59. “I didn’t know what to expect at Carolina, but I thought I could be more of a regular student there.”
And like the kid brother who was jostled around by three elders, Wolf was determined wherever he played — as a starter at power forward, but sometimes moving out to shoot his soft jumper or inside to battle with other bigs.
He played on two Tar Heel teams that went undefeated in the ACC regular season and for three straight regional finals teams. The “regular student” also earned first team All-ACC honors as a senior after he began to blossom as a freshman.
And he took to good coaching. After a bad first half against Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Smith asked him if he played golf. Joe shook his head. Smith went on with the analogy.
“A lot of times, golfers will play a terrible front nine,” said the hall of fame coach, “and after they take a break, eat a hot dog and drink a Coke, they get determined they are going to play much better on the back nine. You can do that, Joe.”
Wolf went on to outplay John Salley, the Jackets’ star, as the Heels frustrated the Tech crowd by rallying to a big victory as Wolf finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Afterward, assistant coach Eddie Fogler said, “Nice back nine, Joe.”
We are so shocked when our one-time heroes die young, like Eric Montross last year and former football standout Donnell Thompson earlier this year.
Joe Wolf will long be remembered for his handsome face and long body that produced so many clutch baskets and rebounds when the Tar Heels needed them. Rest in peace, Wolfie.
Featured image via Associated Press
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Joe Wolf was great Tar Heel. We’ve been very lucky to have these kind of men from great families come play and study at Carolina.
RIP, Tar Heel.