Wolverine TV: Saddi Washington talks coaching without Juwan Howard, Illinois, more
Michigan Wolverines basketball assistant coach Saddi Washington met with the media Friday afternoon to discuss adjusting to not having head coach Juwan Howard during his suspension, preview Sunday’s matchup against elite big man Kofi Cockburn and more.
Michigan was without sophomore center Hunter Dickinson and senior forward Brandon Johns Jr. back when it played Illinois in January. Washington was asked whether or not that film was valuable or if they had to throw it out in preparation for Sunday’s showdown. He said they’ll take it into account due to the way Michigan battled and made it a close game down the stretch before Illinois pulled away.
“No, I think it’s all extremely valuable,” Washington replied. “We battled our butts off that game, and we were, I want to say, at the six-minute mark we were within a possession of tying or going ahead at one point.
“It’s all very valuable. They’re doing a lot of similar things that they were doing before. But their emphasis is still being able to get the ball inside to the big fella and surrounding him with guys who can make shots. The challenge is the challenge, and we’ll do our best to prepare.”
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This game is the second out of four straight home games, which marks the first time the Wolverines will have played more than two consecutive contests at Crisler Center. The Wolverines have lost just three games at home and have been much better within the friendly confines. These contests are crucial for Michigan, too, even though they’re projected to be in the tournament field as of now. Two appears to be the magic number when it comes to grabbing an NCAA Tournament bid.
Tip off for Michigan vs. Illinois is set for 2:07 p.m. ET Sunday afternoon on CBS.
For more Michigan Wolverines basketball talk, watch Washington’s session with the media below.
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