Men's Basketball | January 11, 2021

LOS ANGELES — Bob Kolf Jr., the co-captain of USC's 1951 division champion men's basketball team, died on Dec. 29 in Atascadero, Calif. He was 91.

USC went 21-6 and won the Pacific Coast Conference Southern Division in 1951 when Kolf was co-captain with Tom Riach. The Trojans finished second in the Southern Division in 1949 and 1950.

As a 1951 senior, he was named the team's Most Inspirational Player while averaging 8.4 points. In his Trojan career, the 3-year (1949-51) letterman guard played in 59 games and had a scoring average of 6.7 points.

He also played a season each on USC's football and baseball teams. He came to USC from Oshkosh (Wisc.) High.

After his Trojan playing days, Kolf helped coach USC's junior varsity and freshman men's basketball teams in 1952, then was in the Navy. He returned to USC for five seasons (1957-61), serving as an assistant coach with the men's basketball varsity team and head coach with the freshmen squad.

He is survived by his daughter Carolyn and son Rob. He was predeceased by his wife Pat.

His late father, Bob, is in the NAIA Hall of Fame after coaching seven sports for 45 years (1923-67) at Wisconsin-Oshkosh.