Charlotte 49ers head men’s basketball coach Mark Price has announced the hiring of Ivo Simovic as assistant basketball coach. Simovic brings a wealth of international basketball experience to the 49ers staff.
“We are really excited to add Ivo to our coaching staff,” Price said. “He brings a lot of years of coaching experience in Europe as a head coach to our program. He has great contacts and is well respected in Europe as a player development coach as well as a recruiter. He will add a piece to our puzzle here at Charlotte and helps us expand our recruiting base.”
Simovic joins the 49ers coaching staff after spending the last two seasons as a member of the University of Hartford men’s basketball coaching staff including serving as the associate head coach last season.
The Belgrade, Serbia native came to Hartford in 2015 after spending eight years as the sports director for CB Espacio Torrelodones in Madrid, Spain. He landed some of the top players in Madrid throughout his time there. During his time at CB Espacio Torrelodones, they finished runner-up in the Madrid Basketball Federation during the 2011-12 season and were the fifth-best program in all of Spain in his final season. The team showed incredible growth during Simovic’s time, and he served as a mentor to several coaches including Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach Darko Rajakovic.
Prior to his time at Torrelodones, he spent eight years working with Serbia’s prestigious Red Star basketball club. During his time at Red Star, they won the 2004 National Championship and were runner-up in his final season in 2007. Dozens of his players went on to play for the Serbian National Team, which are currently ranked third in the world.
Simovic also spent the summers of 2013 and 2014 working as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs summer league teams. He earned an NBA Championship ring from the team after the Spurs won the 2014 title.
He graduated from Belgrade’s Union University with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Economic Management in 2013. Simovic and his wife, Jelena, have two children, Ema and Marko.
“My family and I are very excited to join the Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball program and the university community,” Simovic said. “I’m very thankful for the opportunity that Coach Mark Price has given me and I’m sure that we will be very successful. It is a pleasure to be able to work with Coach Price and other members of the coaching staff to keep developing such a great basketball program.”
