Kohler native continues to hone coaching skills as Bucks No. 3 assistant under Skiles

By BRIAN GAYNOR
Sheboygan Press staff

In his second season as an assistant for the up-and-coming Bucks, Joe Wolf is taking the next step of learning from his NBA coaching baptism, while continuing to work one-on-one with promising center Andrew Bogut.

"Last year was a year to understand Scott's system," the Kohler native said of Bucks head coach Scott Skiles. "I feel like I've done that and now I'm growing within his system. I want to teach and to understand it. It's a very fun process."

His workload has increased this season because Lionel Hollins left for Memphis and Wolf moved up one spot to No. 3 assistant (out of four) and now sits on the bench rather than behind the bench in the stands.

Wolf, 44, began his pro conditioning as head coach of the Idaho Stampede of the CBA and the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League. He received his NBA initiation last season with the Bucks and, this season, in addition to working with Milwaukee's big men, will scout 25 games.

"We do all the prep work, the video, the walk-through, prepare Scott Skiles for the teams coming up," Wolf said.

Wolf, of course, knows the game intimately. He was a phenom at Kohler High School and judged in a 2005 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel poll as the greatest high school player in Wisconsin history. He became an All-Atlantic Coast Conference forward at North Carolina and was the 13th pick in the 1987 NBA draft.

In an 11-season NBA career, Wolf banged bodies and learned from the likes of current and future Basketball Hall of Fame centers Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Shaquille O'Neal.

These days, he tutors and keeps a watchful eye on Bogut, an emerging big man who had a large game — 23 points and 10 rebounds — in a 108-102 win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night at the Bradley Center.

"He's doing a much better job of using his athleticism and skills and understanding how effective he can be," Wolf said. "He's still a work-in-progress, but he's only 24 years old."

Rookie guard sensation Brandon Jennings, who had 14 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday night, is getting much of the ink this season. But Wolf cautions that the NBA season is long and grueling.

"He's young; he's 20 years old. I don't know how many 20-year-old kids have come into the league and been an All-Star right away," Wolf said. "He's going to have to understand an 82-game season. (But) he's played extremely well."

The Bucks, who bring a 4-2 record into tonight's home game against Golden State, fell short of the playoffs the last three seasons and have not made the Eastern Conference Finals since 2001. But rebuilding takes time and patience, Wolf said.

"You can't talk championships until you're talking about winning in your own arena," Wolf said. "We have to buckle down and do what we have to do to win at home, and then try to make the playoffs."

In the meantime, Wolf will try to glean wisdom from Skiles and other coaches and work to improve his game as an assistant. He said he would love to become an NBA head coach, but he is not fixated on the timing.

"Years down the road," he said. "Right now, I'm trying to understand and learn where I'm at and make sure I'm doing the right things."

As a 6-foot-11 banger at Kohler, North Carolina and with seven teams in the NBA, Wolf's work ethic was never questioned. That's why he and Skiles are a good match.

"The thing about a Scott Skiles team is that they play hard and they win and that shows in our first six games," Wolf said. "That comes from the head coach; he was a worker as a player."

Reach Brian Gaynor at bgaynor@sheboyganpress.com