SAN ANGELO – Angelo State head women's basketball coach Cayla Petree has hired Josip Maric, a former member of the Bosnian National Team, as her new assistant women's basketball coach.

"Coach Maric has worked with some of the biggest and most respected names in basketball and has played at the highest level himself," Petree said. "I am excited to see the improvement in our guards after he works with them.  He has strong international ties that will be a huge asset in recruiting."  

Maric has made numerous stops as a coach including stops at Richland College, Illinois State, Howard College and Abilene Christian.

Last season at Richland College, Maric helped lead the team to a 25-7 overall record. Prior to Richland College, Maric spent two years at Illinois State as an administrative assistant.

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 the 2008 Lone Star Conference Player of the Year, Dejan Sencanski.

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 high education at Abilene Christian.