Former Michigan basketball assistant ends up at Michigan State

I always imagined that Saddi Washington would leave the Michigan basketball program for a head coaching job. That isn’t how it worked out, but the long-time Wolverines assistant has found a new job with Michigan State.

The Spartans announced Washington as part of their coaching staff on Thursday morning. Washington was a long-time Michigan basketball assistant who worked under Juwan Howard for the past five seasons. He also worked under John Beilein who hired Washington.

Coach Izzo announces staff updates ahead of the 2024-25 season, including the hiring of Saddi Washington as an Assistant Coach 🏀

More: https://t.co/8Hhm9TwYXm pic.twitter.com/glyJ8UA7SX

— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) June 6, 2024

Saddi Washington was an asset to Michigan basketball. Not only did he do a solid job on the recruiting trail, he was a key assistant coach and had a key role in the defensive game-planning for the Wolverines.

It wouldn’t have surprised me if Dusty May decided to keep him on staff. But, May wanted to go in another direction. Mike Boynton, the former Oklahoma State head coach was hired to essentially be the defensive coordinator. That’s pretty much what Washington was going for the Wolverines.

Sometimes, a change is a positive thing. I don’t love Washington going to Michigan State just because I know how good of a coach he is. But I’m happy to see him land on his feet. Tom Izzo is getting a quality assistant coach and one who knows how to recruit the state of Michigan.

Washington still feels like a future head coach to me. He had some chances while he was with Michigan basketball and now, he’ll try to beat the Wolverines as part of the MSU staff. I won’t wish him luck in that endeavor, but the man gave so much to Michigan hoops that I want him to succeed, even at MSU.

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