Dave Wohl

Did You Know?

• As a high school student, Wohl taught swimming to children who had suffered brain injuries.
• Since retiring from the NBA, he has hosted a podcast called Dave’s Front Office, discussing basketball topics with executives, coaches, and agents.
• Wohl realized as a high school senior that he would not be an elite player based on physical talent, so he focused on basketball IQ, being a great teammate, and hard work.

Early life

Wohl was born on November 2, 1949, in Flushing, New York. His father was Jewish and his mother Protestant; his father taught him to find the good in people of all backgrounds. He attended East Brunswick High School in New Jersey, where he was a quarterback on the football team. In 1966, he was named first-team All-Middlesex County for both his running and passing ability, averaging 10.7 yards per carry, rushing for 14 touchdowns, and passing for nine touchdowns with over 2,000 total yards.

The other first-team All-County quarterback that year was future NFL quarterback Joe Theismann. As a senior basketball guard in 1966–67, the left-handed Wohl was a unanimous first-team All-Middlesex County selection, setting school records for points in a season (499) and career points (976), along with season records for foul shooting, assists, and steals. In May 1967, he was named Middlesex County's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He graduated 16th in a class of 401, was an A− student, a National Honor Society member, and also competed in track and field in the pole vault, high jump, and long jump.

College career

Wohl attended the University of Pennsylvania, playing one year on the freshman team and varsity basketball from 1968 to 1971. As a freshman, he averaged 12.5 points per game, and his coach Digger Phelps considered him one of Penn's best defensive players. As a sophomore in 1968–69, Wohl led Penn with 16.1 points per game and was named first-team All-Ivy League and honorable mention All-Big Five. The next season, with forwards Corky Calhoun and Bob Morse added to the starting lineup, Wohl's scoring average dropped to 14 points per game on fewer shots.

Penn went from third in the Ivy League to a perfect 14–0 conference record, finishing 25–2 overall and ranked No. 13 by the Associated Press; they lost to Niagara in the first round of the 1970 NCAA tournament. As a senior in 1970–71, Wohl averaged 15.3 points per game, second on the team to Morse's 15.4. Penn again went 14–0 in Ivy play and entered the NCAA tournament undefeated at 26–0. They defeated Duquesne and South Carolina before losing to Villanova 90–47 in the East Regional Final, their only loss of the season.

Villanova reached the national championship game, and Penn finished ranked No. 3. Wohl was again first-team All-Ivy League. Over his 81-game varsity career, he averaged 15.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, and Penn's record under coach Dick Harter was 68–13.

Professional career

The Philadelphia 76ers selected Wohl in the third round of the 1971 NBA draft, 46th overall. In his rookie season under coach Jack Ramsay, he started 32 of 79 games, averaging 20.6 minutes, 8.1 points, 2.9 assists, and 1.9 rebounds per game. Before the 1972–73 season, the 76ers traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers for Dale Schlueter, allowing Wohl to avoid playing on a 9–73 team often considered the worst in NBA history. After 22 games as a backup point guard in Portland, he was acquired on waivers by the Buffalo Braves, where Ramsay again coached him.

Wohl played 56 games for Buffalo that season, averaging 27.5 minutes, 8.8 points, and 4.6 assists per game. In February 1974, he and center Kevin Kunnert were traded to the Houston Rockets for Jack Marin and Matt Goukas. Wohl averaged 6.0 points and 4.2 assists in 26 games as the Rockets' backup point guard that season. He started for Houston in 1974–75, playing 75 games and averaging 23 minutes, 6.5 points, and 4.5 assists.

The following season he appeared in only 50 games. Wohl began 1976–77 with the Rockets but was traded to the New York Nets after 14 games, averaging less than five minutes per game. With the Nets, he played 37 games, averaging 25 minutes, 7.4 points, and 3.4 assists. He played his final NBA season in 1977–78 with the New Jersey Nets, appearing in ten games before being released on November 19, 1977.

Over his seven-year career, Wohl played 410 games, averaging nearly 20 minutes, 6.2 points, 3.4 assists, and 1.4 rebounds per game.

Coaching and executive career

Wohl began his coaching career as an assistant for the Nets in 1978–79 under Kevin Loughery. The next season, he became general manager and head coach of the Philadelphia Fox in the Women's Professional Basketball League, but the team collapsed financially before the season ended. He then served as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks from 1979 to 1982 under Don Nelson, and for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1982 to 1985 under Pat Riley. With the Lakers, Wohl earned the nickname "Captain Video" for his extensive use of video study systems, and he was an assistant on the 1985 NBA championship team.

In August 1985, the Nets signed Wohl to a three-year contract as head coach, after Rollie Massimino backed out of the job hours before his introductory news conference. Wohl led the Nets to the playoffs in his first season. He was fired in December 1987 after 15 games of his third season. The Nets teams during his tenure faced player personnel problems, including the suspension of Michael Ray Richardson for drug use in 1985–86, and Wohl's relationship with some players deteriorated. Upon his firing, one New Jersey columnist wrote, "Wohl is lucky. He's free."