Sept. 20, 2011
NORMAL, Ill. -
Bosnian born Josip Maric has experienced the game of basketball at nearly every level, and he will bring that knowledge to Illinois State after being named the administrative assistant by head coach Tim Jankovich.
"We are very excited to have Josip joining our program," Jankovich said. "He is a bright and talented addition to our staff with tremendous international experience."
Prior to arriving at Illinois State, Maric worked one season as an assistant coach at Howard College in Big Spring, Texas. The Hawks were ranked No. 1 nationally preseason.
Maric went to Howard after a four-year stint at Abilene Christian. In his second year at ACU, the Wildcats advanced to the postseason play for the first time in 12 years. Maric recruited several players, including Dejan Sencanski, who was named the 2008 Lone Star Conference Player of the Year.
Before coaching at ACU, Maric worked at Kishwaukee (Ill.) College for three seasons. While at Kishwaukee, he mentored multiple All-Americans, all-region, and all-conference players, including Justin Wilson and T. J. Collins. Before entering the college ranks, Maric served as an assistant coach for one season at Harlem (Ill.) High School.
Maric played professional basketball in both Bosnia and Poland. He was a member of the Bosnia National Team in 1999 that qualified for EuroBasket in France. Maric started his college career at Northeastern Illinois. In his second year, after Northeastern Illinois dropped all of its athletics programs, he transferred to Lewis (Ill.).
At Lewis, the Flyers advanced to the NCAA Division II National Tournament. His college career ended at Rockford (Ill.) College where he holds several school records. Maric was also the Bosnia Junior National Team captain in 1993, and scored 48 points in a game against Turkey.
Maric comes from a basketball rich family. His older brother, Ivica, played professional basketball for 20 years in Europe on the highest level and is currently a coach in Croatia. Maric's brother-in-law, Branislav Dzunic, had a long and successful career as a professional basketball player and is currently coaching at the professional level in Hungary. He is also the coach for the Hungarian National team.
Maric earned his Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Rockford College, and his Masters in higher education from Abilene Christian.
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