The University of Hartford men's basketball team has rounded out its staff with the hiring of Ivo Simovic and Donnie Carr, head coach John Gallagher announced today. Simovic will serve as an assistant coach for the Hawks, while Carr is the program's new coordinator of player development.

"I couldn't be more excited to add Ivo and Donnie to our staff," Gallagher said. "Both bring unique perspectives to our program that will have a major impact in both the recruitment of future players and the development of our current guys. With these two, plus the staff we already have in place, I am blessed to have a staff that is among the best in college basketball in terms of basketball IQ and work ethic."

Simovic joins the Hawks after a strong career on both the international and NBA fronts. He served as the sports director for CB Espacio Torrelodones in Spain for the last eight years, where he landed some of the top players in Madrid throughout his time there.They were the runner-up in the Madrid Basketball Federation during the2011-12 season. The club showed tremendous technical growth under Simovic, and he mentored such coaches as Darko Rajakovic, now an assistant with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Simovic also spent the summer of 2013 working as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs during their summer league season. He worked with such highly-touted players as Deshaun Thomas, Hollis Thompson and Cory Joseph in his time there. He also served as the head coach for youth teams for the famed Red Star Belgrade program in his native Serbia.

Most recently, Carr coached for Philadelphia's Team Final on the AAU circuit in the summer of 2015 for the Under-15 squad. He also served previously served as an assistant coach in the program for Team Final's Under-15 team, which is annually one of the top AAU programs in the region. He also served as an assistant coach for the Haverford School, Roman Catholic High School and Holy Family College.

His time as a coach followed an overseas playing career that was cut short by injuries. Attending high school at Roman Catholic, the Philadelphia native was one of the most highly-touted players in the nation, and went on to a tremendous college career at LaSalle. In his time with the Explorers, he finished his career with 2,067 points, the fifth-most in program history.

Carr and Simovic join assistant coaches Tom Devitt and Jaret von Rosenberg, director of operations Matt Mihalich and graduate manager Ben Farmer to round out Gallagher's staff for the 2015-16 season. The Hawks open the year with an exhibition on Friday, Nov. 6, against Bowie State in Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion, then begin their regular season on Friday, Nov. 13 at Central Connecticut in the Connecticut 6 Classic.

Season tickets for Hawks Basketball are on sale now by calling the Malcolm and Brenda Berman Athletics Ticket Office at 860-768-HAWK
(4295) or online at HartfordHawks.com.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT IVO SIMOVIC:

"Ivo is a great coach and an even better person. He's proven as a player development coach, and all of his former players loved playing for him and got much better. He's an extremely bright offensive coach with great experience throughout his coaching career, which he started at the age of 17. He has great knowledge of both the international and NBA game. I think he's going to be a great addition to the University of Hartford and have a great career in coaching college basketball."
- Darko Radkovic, Assistant Coach, Oklahoma City Thunder

"I'm really excited for Ivo. He's a young guy who has spent all his life in basketball. Having worked with him in Madrid, I'm happy that he chose to come overseas. He's worked with guys on the offensive side, and I saw a lot of our players develop, including my son under his coaching. He made a big difference seeing them before and after.It's a great experience for young players to learn from him and grow."
- Vlade Divac, GM, Sacramento Kings

"Ivo Simovic is a talented coach with a tireless work ethic. Thanks to his background in European basketball he brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective to the University of Hartford."
-Brian Pauga, Director of Scouting, San Antonio Spurs

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT DONNIE CARR

"Donnie is a great guy and a great coach. Has a tremendous rapport with everyone he has coached. The guys are really going to love him at Hartford. For being such a great player, he has no ego, just a great demeanor and he loves the game of basketball."
- Chris McNesby, Head Coach, Roman Catholic High School

"Hartford really got a winner with Donnie Carr. He's a hard worker, who leads and teaches by example. He was a fun guy to coach and did a great job for us at LaSalle, and I couldn't be happier for him."
- Speedy Morris, Former Head Coach, LaSalle Explorers