UCLA Men's Basketball Hires Ivo Simovic As Assistant Coach

Before holding positions at Loyola University Maryland, Charlotte and Hartford, Simovic was an international scout in the NBA.

The Bruins have brought in an outsider to round out their staff.

UCLA men’s basketball hired a new assistant coach Friday morning, securing Loyola University Maryland assistant Ivo Simovic to fill the lone vacancy on the staff. The Bruins’ had been without a third full-time assistant coach since March, when Michael Lewis left to take the head coaching job at Ball State.

Simovic has spent the past four seasons at Loyola Maryland, and he had previous coaching stops at UNC Charlotte and Hartford.

"My family and I are very excited to become part of the Bruins' family," Simovic said in a statement released by the team. "I'm especially grateful for this opportunity from Coach Cronin, and I am looking forward to being a part of and learning from his coaching staff. I will do everything in my power to help our team and to represent UCLA with a high level of integrity and pride. It's absolutely an honor for me to join this historic basketball program."

Before coming stateside, the Belgrade, Serbia, native was a coach in both his home country and Spain. Simovic changed paths during his final few years in Europe, pivoting from being a program leader and general manager to becoming an international scout for the San Antonio Spurs.

Simovic worked with the Spurs for several years, coaching San Antonio’s Las Vegas Summer League teams in 2013 and 2014 before earning an NBA championship ring in 2014.

Following his professional stint, Simovic joined the college ranks and has served as an assistant or associate head coach ever since.

Between Darren Savino and Rod Palmer, coach Mick Cronin’s staff already has Midwest familiarity and strong West Coast ties. Simovic brings European roots to the equation as well, a strategy that has helped Gonzaga and Arizona become perennial contenders over the past decade.

“Ivo is a great person who will fit well our culture of personal and professional development,” Cronin said in a statement. “He has recruited NBA players, has excelled as an international scout for the San Antonio Spurs, and was just 24 years old as the head coach for the highly-regarded Red Star in Serbia. He was 28 when he got the head coaching job in Spain. We wanted to find the best coach available who would be the right fit for UCLA, so we took our time and diligently searched the basketball world. Certainly, international recruiting is one of his strengths. But we know that he’s very good at building relationships, and that will be vital to us when you talk about team building, player development and recruiting. We are very excited to add Ivo to our coaching staff.”

Simovic is 43 years old and has led teams to multiple national and league titles overseas.

Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruins
Subscribe to All Bruins on YouTube

Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA men's basketball stories: UCLA Men's Basketball on Sports Illustrated

PHOTO COURTESY OF UCLA ATHLETICS