As any grade school student can tell you, yellow and blue make green. That is just science. For the newest member of the Michigan State men's basketball coaching staff, this age-old statement is even more of a truism.
On Thursday, Michigan State men's basketball announced the hiring of former Michigan basketball assistant coach Saddi Washington. He will now join Tom Izzo's staff in East Lansing.
"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. Obviously, he's got some deep ties at Michigan State as his parents and his brother are all alums and his father, Stan, was one of the greats of our program."
Washington will replace longtime assistant coach and former Spartan point guard Mark Montgomery. On April 3, the departing Montgomery accepted the head coaching position at Detroit Mercy after 13 total years over two stints as an assistant to Izzo in East Lansing.
"I'm very thankful to join the program at Michigan State and to come back home," Washington said. "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."
With the departure of Montgomery, Doug Wojcik has been elevated to associate head coach and Jon Borovich and Austin Thornton are both now assistant coaches alongside Thomas Kelley.
Despite having spent the previous eight seasons coaching the Wolverines in Ann Arbor —under two different head coaches in John Beilein and Juwan Howard — Washington has strong ties to both the Lansing area and to Michigan State University. Washington's father, Stan Washington, was a 6-foot-9 forward for the Spartans from 1964 through 1966. Stan Washington was a three-time All-Big Ten selection during his time in East Lansing where he averaged 18 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
Saddi Washington attended Lansing Sexton High School where he was a standout athlete in both basketball and track from 1990 through 94. Thee younger Washington then attended Western Michigan where he starred on the basketball court from 1994 through 1998.
During his time in Kalamazoo, Saddi Washington was a member of the 1994 Mid-American (MAC) All-Freshman team and made the All-MAC teams during both his junior (second team) and senior years (first team). His career as a Bronco was capped off with a berth to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 11 seed and a first-round upset over No. 6 seed Clemson.
After college, Saddi Washington played basketball professionally both overseas and in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and the American Basketball Association (ABA).
Saddi Washington started his coaching career in 2005 as a volunteer assistant coach at Romulus High School under current University of Alabama head coach Nate Oats. Just a year later, he joined the staff of head coach Greg Kampe at Oakland University as an assistant coach in 2006.
In 2013, Saddi Washington was promoted to the position of associate head coach at Oakland, a position he held until he departed for the University of Michigan following the 2016 season.
The Oakland Golden Grizzlies had several highly successful seasons during Saddi Washington's tenure, including back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2010 and 2011.
While at Michigan, Saddi Washington helped guide the Wolverines to a Big Ten title in 2021, back-to-back Big Ten Tournament championships in 2017 and 2018, five consecutive Sweet 16 appearances and a Final Four in 2018.
While on the staff at Michigan, Saddi Washington primarily worked with wings and on defensive strategies. Washington's exact role as the newest member of the Michigan State staff is unclear, but he is likely to make a positive impact.
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