Marin Marić

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Marin Marić

| image =

| position = Center

| height_cm = 211

| weight_kg = 109

| league = Lebanese Basketball League

| team = Al Riyadi Club Beirut

| number = 34

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1994|2|21}}

| birth_place = Split, Croatia

| high_school = La Lumiere School
(La Porte, Indiana)

| college =

Northern Illinois (2013–2017)
DePaul (2017–2018)

| draft_year = 2018

| career_start = 2011

| years1 = 2011–2012

| team1 = Split

| years2 = 2018

| team2 = Büyükçekmece

| years3 = 2018–2019

| team3 = Oostende

| years4 = 2019–2020

| team4 = Okapi Aalst

| years5 = 2020

| team5 = BC Lietkabelis

| years6 = 2020–2021

| team6 = Split

| years7 = 2021

| team7 = Ironi Ness Ziona

| years8 = 2021–2022

| team8 = Larisa

| years9 = 2022–2024

| team9 = Andorra

| years10 = 2024

| team10 = Changsha Wantian Yongsheng

| years11 = 2024–2025

| team11 = Sichuan Blue Whales

| years12 = 2025–present

| team12 = Al Riyadi Club Beirut

| highlights =

Belgian League champion (2019)
2× Third-team All-MAC (2016, 2017)

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|{{bk|CRO}}}}

}}

Marin Marić (born 21 February 1994){{cite web |title=Marin Maric (Croatia) - Basketball Stats, Height, Age {{!}} FIBA Basketball |url=https://www.fiba.basketball/en/players/198161-marin-maric |website=www.fiba.basketball |access-date=2 April 2025 |language=en |date=2 April 2025}} is a Croatian professional basketball player for Al Riyadi Club Beirut of the Lebanese Basketball League. He played college basketball in the United States for Northern Illinois and DePaul.

Early life

Marić was born in Split, Croatia.{{cite web |title=Marin Maric |url=https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/player/p/pid/101642/sid/9616/tid/2168/tid2//_/2013_FIBA_U19_Championship_for_Men/index.html |website=fiba.com |access-date=2 April 2025 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031154248/https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/player/p/pid/101642/sid/9616/tid/2168/tid2//_/2013_FIBA_U19_Championship_for_Men/index.html |archive-date=31 October 2020}}

College career

Marić moved to the United States in 2012 to attend La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana. In 2013, he enrolled at Northern Illinois University and debuted for the Huskies men's basketball. An injury early in his freshman year led to him redshirting the 2013–14 season. He returned in the 2014–15 season{{cite web|last=Severson|first=Jesse|url=https://www.daily-chronicle.com/2015/12/08/maric-major-reason-for-hot-start/a2mt06c/|title=Maric major reason for hot start|work=daily-chronicle.com|date=11 December 2015|accessdate=6 November 2019}} and played three full seasons for the Huskies. In 2017, he originally declared for the NBA draft, but withdrew his name before the draft withdrawal deadline.{{cite web|last=Phillips|first=Scott|url=https://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/2017/05/08/depaul-gets-potential-impact-grad-transfer-in-northern-illinois-center-marin-maric/|title=DePaul gets potential impact grad transfer in Northern Illinois center Marin Maric|work=nbcsports.com|date=8 May 2017|accessdate=5 November 2019|quote=...pulled his name out of the NBA Draft process and committed to the Blue Demons.}} He subsequently left Northern Illinois and joined DePaul as a graduate transfer.{{Cite web|url=https://depaulbluedemons.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=70|title=Marin Maric - Men's Basketball|website=DePaul University Athletics|language=en|access-date=26 July 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://niuhuskies.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=4164|title=Marin Maric|website=niuhuskies.com|language=en|access-date=26 July 2019}} In his lone season at DePaul, Maric averaged 13.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He had a season-high 25 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists against St. John's on 6 January 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://247sports.com/college/depaul/Article/DePauls-Marin-Maric-relishing-final-college-season-115687939/|title=DePaul's Marin Maric relishing final college season|website=247sports.com|language=en|access-date=7 November 2019}}

Professional career

On 12 May 2012, Marić made his professional debut at age 18 with Split in an A-Liga game against Slavonski Brod, playing for 15 seconds.{{cite web|url=https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Marin-Maric/GameLogs/37918/International/2012|title=Marin Maric Game Logs|work=RealGM.com|accessdate=24 September 2019}}

Following the 2017–18 US college season, Marić had a two-game stint in the Turkish Basketball Super League for Büyükçekmece.{{cite web|url=https://basketball.eurobasket.com/player/Marin_Maric/Belgium/Crelan-Okapi-Aalstar/252075|title=Marin Maric|work=eurobasket.com|accessdate=5 November 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.haberturk.com/demir-insaat-buyukcekmece-marin-maric-i-transfer-etti-1916814-spor|title=Demir İnşaat Büyükçekmece, Marin Maric'i transfer etti|work=haberturk.com|date=12 April 2018|accessdate=5 November 2019|language=tr}} For the 2018–19 season, he played in Belgium with Oostende of the Pro Basketball League (PBL).{{cite web|url=https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20180731_03641663|title=Kroatische center Maric naar BC Oostende|work=nieuwsblad.be|date=31 July 2018|accessdate=6 November 2019|language=nl}} Despite him missing the back-end of the season with an elbow injury,{{cite web|url=https://sportando.basketball/en/bc-oostendes-marin-maric-out-for-season-with-elbow-injury/|title=BC Oostende's Marin Maric out for season with elbow injury|work=sportando.basketball|date=6 March 2019|accessdate=6 November 2019}} he was crowned a champion in June 2019 when Oostende won the PBL title.{{cite web|url=https://basketbalnieuws.com/marin-maric-naar-okapi-aalstar/|title=Marin Maric naar Crelan Okapi Aalstar|work=basketbalnieuws.com|date=10 July 2019|accessdate=24 September 2019|language=nl}} He returned to Belgium for the 2019–20 season, joining Okapi Aalst. He was the PBL's MVP of Round 1 after recording 21 points and nine rebounds in a win over Leuven Bears.{{cite web|url=http://euromillionsbasketball.be/article?id=5769|title=Marin Maric is EuroMillions MVP of the Week|work=EuroMillions Basketball League|accessdate=24 September 2019}} Marić led the league in rebounding with 8.8 rebounds per game.{{cite web |title=Marin Maric signs with Lietkabelis |url=https://sportando.basketball/en/marin-maric-signs-with-lietkabelis/ |website=Sportando |accessdate=20 June 2020 |date=19 June 2020}}

On 19 June 2020, Marić signed with BC Lietkabelis of the Lithuanian Basketball League. He averaged 9.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in the EuroCup.{{Cite web|url=https://sportando.basketball/en/marin-maric-inks-with-kk-split/|title=Marin Maric inks with KK Split|date=3 December 2020|publisher=Sportando|language=En|access-date=3 December 2020}} On 3 December 2020, he signed with Split of the Adriatic League and the Croatian League, returning to the team for a second stint.

On 19 September 2021, Marić signed with Ironi Ness Ziona of the Israeli Basketball Super League.{{cite web |title=Ironi Ness Ziona announces signing of Croatian center Marin Maric |url=https://sportando.basketball/en/ironi-ness-ziona-announces-signing-of-croatian-center-marin-maric/ |website=Sportando |access-date=19 September 2021 |date=19 September 2021}} He left the team in early November.{{cite web |title=Hvala vam, Marin! |url=https://twitter.com/ironinessziona/status/1455829575120867331 |website=twitter.com/ironinessziona |access-date=25 November 2021 |date=3 November 2021 |language=Hebrew}}

On 16 December 2021, Marić signed with Larisa of the Greek Basket League.{{cite web |last1=Chelidze |first1=Dimitri |title=Marin Maric (ex I.Nes Ziona) signs at Larissa BC |url=https://www.eurobasket.com/Greece/news/721842/Marin-Maric-(ex-I.Nes-Ziona)-signs-at-Larissa-BC |website=Eurobasket |access-date=16 December 2021 |date=16 December 2021}} In 25 league games, he averaged 11.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists, playing around 20 minutes per contest.

On 8 August 2022, Marić signed with MoraBanc Andorra of the LEB Oro.{{Cite web|url=https://sportando.basketball/en/marin-maric-joins-morabanc-andorra/|title=Marin Maric joins MoraBanc Andorra|last=|first=|date=8 August 2022|website=|publisher=Sportando|language=En|access-date=15 August 2022}} He averaged 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in 31 games during the 2022–23 season.{{Cite web|url=https://basketball.eurobasket.com/player/Marin-Maric/252075|title=Marin Maric|website=eurobasket.com|access-date=2 January 2024|url-access=subscription}} He re-joined Andorra for the 2023–24 season, with the team now in the Liga ACB.

On 21 May 2024, Marić joined Changsha Wantian Yongsheng of the National Basketball League.{{cite news |author=赵紫名 |title=克罗地亚国手加盟，长沙勇胜男篮迎来大中锋 |url=https://www.icswb.com/h/153/20240521/871377.html |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=icswb.com |date=21 May 2024 |language=Chinese}} On 30 September, he signed with Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese Basketball Association.{{cite web |title=四川男篮官方：球队已经正式签下克罗地亚籍球员马林-马里奇 |url=https://news.zhibo8.com/nba/2024-09-30/66faa8cf7d88bnative.htm |website=直播吧 |access-date=18 March 2025 |date=30 September 2024}} In 43 games for Sichuan, he averaged 18.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

In March 2025, Marić signed with Al Riyadi Club Beirut of the Lebanese Basketball League.{{cite news |title=Marin Maric (ex Sichuan BW) is a newcomer at Al Riyadi |url=https://www.eurobasket.com/Croatia/news/923991/Marin-Maric-(ex-Sichuan-BW)-is-a-newcomer-at-Al-Riyadi |access-date=2 April 2025 |work=eurobasket.com |date=18 March 2025}}

National team career

Marić made his international debut in 2012 for the Croatian national under-18 team at the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, where he won a gold medal.{{cite web|last=Severson|first=Jesse|url=https://www.daily-chronicle.com/2016/03/24/niu-mens-basketball-croatian-big-man-adjusting-to-life-in-america/aaikv43/|title=NIU men's basketball: Croatian big man adjusting to life in America|work=daily-chronicle.com|date=27 March 2016|accessdate=5 November 2019|quote=Maric had finished up school in Croatia and was coming off being a part of his country's U18 team that won the gold medal at the 2012 FIBA Euro Cup...}} In 2013, he played for the Croatian under-19 team at the FIBA Under-19 World Championship. In 2014, he played for the Croatian under-20 team at the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.{{cite web|url=https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/player/p/pid/101642/sid/9616/tid/2168/tid2//_/2013_FIBA_U19_Championship_for_Men/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140902085201/http://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/player/p/pid/101642/sid/9616/tid/2168/tid2/_/2013_FIBA_U19_Championship_for_Men/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 September 2014|title=Marin Maric|work=fiba.com|accessdate=5 November 2019}}

Marić played for the Croatian national senior team in 2020, 2021 and 2024.

References

External links

[https://www.okapiaalstar.be/speler/marin-maric/ Okapi Aalst player profile]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20201031154248/https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/player/p/pid/101642/sid/9616/tid/2168/tid2//_/2013_FIBA_U19_Championship_for_Men/index.html FIBA profile]
[https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/marin-maric-1.html Sports-Reference.com profile]

Category:1994 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century Croatian sportsmen

Category:Al Riyadi Club Beirut basketball players

Category:BC Andorra players

Category:BC Lietkabelis players

Category:BC Oostende players

Category:Centers (basketball)

Category:Croatian expatriate basketball people in China

Category:Croatian expatriate basketball people in Greece

Category:Croatian expatriate basketball people in Israel

Category:Croatian expatriate basketball people in Lithuania