Vujic named assistant coach at Northwestern
Northwestern head men's basketball coach Bill Carmody has announced the addition of Ivan Vujic to the Wildcats' staff as an assistant coach. Vujic comes to NU after most recently serving as the Director of Basketball Operations at DePaul University the past two years. He begins his duties August 1.
"My staff and I are very excited to welcome Ivan to our program," Carmody said. "I know he is excited about the opportunity to move into a full-time assistant coaching position and I believe his addition will pay dividends in recruiting as well as on the floor. He has learned from two coaches I have great respect for in Coach Homer Drew and Coach Jerry Wainwright and they could not say enough good things about him. I look forward to watching Ivan instill his work ethic and toughness in our talented big kids as well as the rest of the team."
A native of Split, Croatia, Vujic played collegiate basketball at Valparaiso University from 1998-2000. He played center for the Crusaders for two seasons, averaging 10.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while helping lead the team to a pair of Mid-Continent Conference regular season and tournament titles and two ensuing NCAA tournament appearances. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in engineering with a minor in physical education from Valparaiso in 2006.
Before joining the Crusaders, Vujic played two seasons at Vincennes (Ind.) University from 1996-98. Vujic was named a fourth-team Junior College All-American by Street & Smith's Basketball Magazine before his second season at Vincennes.
Upon the completion of his collegiate career, Vujic played four professional seasons in Europe and Puerto Rico before coaching the B.C. Dubrava-Zagreb club team. He then returned to Valparaiso where he served as an assistant coach for the 2005-06 season before spending the past two seasons at DePaul.
"Speaking for everyone in the DePaul community, I would like to congratulate Ivan on his appointment as a full-time assistant coach to Bill Carmody's staff at Northwestern University," said DePaul head coach Jerry Wainwright. "Ivan has an outstanding future in the coaching profession and we all wish him the best."