Chris SolariDetroit Free Press
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Tom Izzo is bringing Saddi Washington home.
Michigan State basketball hired the former Oakland and Michigan assistant coach Thursday, one of a few staff reshuffling moves by Izzo and the Spartans.
Washington spent the past eight seasons with the Wolverines under both John Beilein and Juwan Howard but was not retained by new head coach Dusty May, who was hired March 23. The 48-year-old, 18-year veteran college assistant will slide into the opening on Izzo's staff that was created when longtime assistant Mark Montgomery left the Spartans to take the head coaching position with Detroit Mercy in April.
"Saddi is not only a real and genuine person, but he’s an incredible coach who has had a great career working for some great people, from my good friend Greg Kampe at Oakland and to his last eight years at Michigan, under both John Beilein and Juwan Howard," Izzo said in a statement. “He’s an outstanding teacher with a great basketball IQ and has been recognized as a great recruiter, in and out of Michigan.”
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Izzo also announced the promotion of veteran assistant Doug Wojcik to associate head coach, along with Jon Borovich and Austin Thornton being named assistant coaches, joining Washington and Thomas Kelley in that role. Borovich most recently was the director of recruiting operations, and Thornton, a former MSU player, was video coordinator.
Washington is a 1993 graduate of Lansing Sexton High, where he played for Izzo’s longtime confidante and assistant video coordinator, Doug Herner. Washington earned All-Mid-American Conference recognition twice as a guard at Western Michigan from 1993-98 and is in his alma mater’s Hall of Fame. His father, Stan, was a three-time All-Big Ten standout at MSU from 1963-66.
"I’m very thankful to join the program at Michigan State and to come back home," Saddi Washington said in a statement. “My family and I are excited for this move and becoming a Spartan is a bit of a full-circle moment for me since my parents and my youngest brother are MSU alums. I grew up down the road in Lansing, coming to watch games at Jenison Field House and my father is one of the original 'Spartan Dawgs,' so it is surreal for me to carry on his legacy. ...
“I’ve followed the Michigan State program since I was a kid and saw first-hand how Coach Izzo has built and sustained excellence. I understand how important it is to the community, the University and the alumni. I’m excited to get going.”
After his seven-year international playing career ended, the younger Washington got into coaching by spending a year as a volunteer assistant at Romulus High in 2005-06. Oakland’s Greg Kampe hired Washington the following year, rising to associate head coach and helping lead a pair of Summit League championship seasons during his tenure with the Golden Grizzlies from 2006-16.
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Beilein brought Washington to U-M in 2016, and the Wolverines won back-to-back Big Ten tournament titles in his first two seasons and made three straight deep runs in the NCAA tournament. That included a run to the Final Four and national championship game in 2018, plus a pair of Sweet 16 appearances.
Washington remained when Beilein left for the NBA and Howard arrived in 2019, and U-M made the Elite Eight in 2021 and returned to the Sweet 16 again in 2022. However, the Wolverines went 8-24 last season and Howard was fired.
If there is any consternation if Izzo might harbor some rivalry concerns with Washington's time in Ann Arbor, their shared mentor Herner played basketball at U-M from 1961-64 and has been on Izzo's staff for 18 years.
“I’m very excited to welcome Saddi to our staff and to bring him back home to the Lansing area,” Izzo said. “I’ve known him since he was in junior high school, where he had Doug Herner as a teacher and I’ve had a great relationship with him and his family for a long, long time."
MSU extended Izzo's NCAA tournament record with a 26th straight appearance last season, finishing with a 20-15 record and a second-round loss to top-seeded North Carolina in March.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him@chrissolari.
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