Marin Marić (born 21 February 1994) is a Croatian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for

Al Riyadi Club Beirut Al Riyadi Club Beirut (), commonly known simply as Al Riyadi, is a Sports club, multi-sports club team based in Ras Beirut, Manara, a district in Beirut, Lebanon. Founded in 1934, the multi-sports club, which is mainly known for their basketball ...

of the

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is recognized as the top-tier professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketb ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

in the United States for

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

and DePaul.

Early life

Marić was born in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

, Croatia.

College career

Marić moved to the United States in 2012 to attend

La Lumiere School La Lumiere School is a private Catholic college preparatory boarding and day school located on a 190-acre campus in Springfield Township, LaPorte County, Indiana in the United States. History The school was founded in 1963 by Raymond E. Da ...

La Porte, Indiana La Porte () is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States, of which it is the county seat. Its population was estimated to be 21,341 in 2022. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana metropolitan stat ...

. In 2013, he enrolled at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

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 and played three full seasons for the Huskies. In 2017, he originally declared for the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

, but withdrew his name before the draft withdrawal deadline. He subsequently left Northern Illinois and joined DePaul as a graduate transfer. 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.

Professional career

On 12 May 2012, Marić made his professional debut at age 18 with

in an A-Liga game against

Slavonski Brod Slavonski Brod (, ), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod is the 7th lar ...

, playing for 15 seconds. Following the 2017–18 US college season, Marić had a two-game stint in the

Turkish Basketball Super League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

for

Büyükçekmece Büyükçekmece, historically Athyras (Greek: Αθύρας) is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 173 km2, and its population is 277,181 (2022). It is on the Sea of Marmara coast of the European side, west o ...

. For the 2018–19 season, he played in Belgium with Oostende of the

Pro Basketball League The Pro Basketball League (PBL), was the highest tier level professional basketball league in Belgium for sports clubs, clubs. In 2021, the league was succeeded by the Belgian-Dutch BNXT League. The league is organized by the Basketball League B ...

(PBL). Despite him missing the back-end of the season with an elbow injury, he was crowned a champion in June 2019 when Oostende won the PBL title. He returned to Belgium for the 2019–20 season, joining

Okapi Aalst Okapi Aalst is a Belgian professional basketball club from Aalst, Belgium. The club competes in the top tier BNXT League and plays its home games in the Okapi Forum, which has a seating capacity of 2,800 people. Okapi is a long-time participant ...

. He was the PBL's MVP of Round 1 after recording 21 points and nine rebounds in a win over

Leuven Bears Leuven Bears, for sponsorship reasons also called Stella Artois Leuven Bears, is a Belgium, Belgian professional basketball club from Leuven. The club competes in the BNXT League, the highest tier in Belgian basketball. History The team has played ...

. Marić led the league in rebounding with 8.8 rebounds per game. On 19 June 2020, Marić signed with

BC Lietkabelis BC Lietkabelis (), commonly known as Lietkabelis Panevėžys, also known as 7bet-Lietkabelis for sponsorship reasons, is a Lithuanian professional basketball club based in Panevėžys, Lithuania, participating in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lit ...

of the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

. He averaged 9.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in the EuroCup. On 3 December 2020, he signed with Split of the

Adriatic League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, ...

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 Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

. He left the team in early November. On 16 December 2021, Marić signed with Larisa of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

. 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 The Primera FEB, formerly known as LEB or LEB Oro, is the second basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system after the Liga ACB. It is run by the Spanish Basketball Federation, FEB. The FEB leagues are divided into three categorie ...

. He averaged 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in 31 games during the 2022–23 season. He re-joined Andorra for the 2023–24 season, with the team now in the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

. On 21 May 2024, Marić joined Changsha Wantian Yongsheng of the National Basketball League. On 30 September, he signed with

Sichuan Blue Whales The Sichuan Jinqiang Blue Whales (sometimes spelled Whale) (四川金强蓝鲸), also known as Sichuan Jinqiang or Sichuan Jinrong Industry, are a professional basketball team based in Wenjiang District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, which plays in t ...

of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier men's professional basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

. 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

of the

National team career

Marić made his international debut in 2012 for the Croatian national under-18 team at the

FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The FIBA U18 EuroBasket is the new name for the FIBA U18 European Championship, originally known as the FIBA European Championship for Juniors. It is a men's youth basketball competition that was inaugurated with the 1964 edition. It was held bi ...

, where he won a gold medal. In 2013, he played for the Croatian under-19 team at the

FIBA Under-19 World Championship The FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup (formerly FIBA Under-19 World Championship) is the under-19 men's world basketball championship organised by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). From its inauguration in 1979, until 2007, it was ...

. In 2014, he played for the Croatian under-20 team at the

FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The FIBA U20 EuroBasket is the new name for the FIBA U20 European Championship, originally known as the European Championship for Men '22 and Under'. It is a men's youth basketball competition that was inaugurated with the 1992 edition. Through ...

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

References

External links

Okapi Aalst player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maric, Marin 1994 births Living people 21st-century Croatian sportsmen Al Riyadi Club Beirut basketball players BC Andorra players BC Lietkabelis players BC Oostende players Centers (basketball) Croatian expatriate basketball people in China Croatian expatriate basketball people in Greece Croatian expatriate basketball people in Israel Croatian expatriate basketball people in Lithuania Croatian expatriate basketball people in Spain Croatian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Croatian expatriate basketball people in the United States Croatian men's basketball players DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball players Hunan Changsha Yongsheng players Ironi Ness Ziona B.C. players KK Split players La Lumiere School alumni Larisa B.C. players Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball players Okapi Aalstar players Sichuan Blue Whales players