Michigan basketball report: Saddi Washington won’t leave for WMU
Michigan basketball assistant Saddi Washington was considered the frontrunner for the Western Michigan job this year, just as he was a few years ago. According to reports, the WMU grad won’t be heading to Kalamazoo this year, either.
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Washington, the lead candidate for the Western job (where he was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2010) two years ago, didn’t go into detail about why he chose to remain in Ann Arbor. He simply saying he loved being at Michigan (or, as he put it when asked, ‘It’s Michigan’). Per the Detroit News Tony Paul, he’s out of the running this year.
Yet again (barring something unforeseen), UM assistant Saddi Washington will not be WMU’s next head men’s basketball coach, I’ve heard from multiple folks,” he tweeted. “Turned down an offer in 2020; not clear if he was technically offered this time, but he likes his situation in Ann Arbor.”
He later added that Washington was not officially offered this time around.
“More on Saddi Washington, from what I’ve heard. He was not offered the WMU job, but was a top target from Day 1,” he said. “He recently sent word he remains very happy at Michigan. Money might have been an issue in 2020 (that was early in the pandemic, remember), but wasn’t an issue in 2022.
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“This means, of course, expect a new contract for Saddi Washington at Michigan in the coming days.”
Michigan associate head coach Phil Martelli was among those who spoke up on Washington’s behalf earlier in the year. Filling in for Juwan Howard during the head coach’s five-game suspension, he called Washington and Howard Eisley future head coaches and sung their praises.
“I am here to tell you Saddi Washington and Howard Eisley just coached their backsides off,” he said after Michigan beat Rutgers. ”I knew when I spoke to many of you yesterday, I was confident that I could manage a game. Those two guys, just absolutely extraordinary.
“I said to the Big Ten Network and I’ll say the same to you. What you’re seeing there are two future head coaches. America needs to know that. America needs to know that. When I spoke to Juwan Howard last night, he said, ‘I feel fine. I have the best coaching staff in America.’ And again, I get it — it’s a story, my whole background. But that was Saddi Washington and Howard Eisley and then those young guys.”
They’ll likely be head coaches down the road. For now, though, Michigan will be happy to keep them.
