Assistant coach Saddi Washington has been with the Michigan Wolverines’ basketball program since the 2016-17 season, and was the only staffer retained (Luke Yaklich departed for Texas and DeAndre Haynes for Maryland) once former head man John Beilein left for Cleveland and Juwan Howard came in.
Washington has been an integral part of the program ever since he arrived at Michigan, helping lead the Wolverines to a Big Ten Tournament title and the Sweet Sixteen in 2017, a second consecutive Big Ten Tournament championship and an appearance in the National Title in 2018, and a 30-win season and a third straight trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 2019.
He also coached the team in Spain last summer when Beilein remained back in the U.S. recovering from double bypass surgery.
Washington met with the media this week for the first time since it was announced he would be staying in Ann Arbor, and spoke about how the transition has gone so far from Beilein to Howard.
“It has been busy, but busy is good,” he began. “Our guys have responded favorably to the new changes with the staff, and the direction we’re moving in going forward.
“We still plan on winning a lot of games and winning championships. The guys have been doing it the right way so far and have been strengthening their brotherhood on a daily basis.”
The players aren’t the only ones who have been ‘strengthening their brotherhood,’ however, with the new coaching staff still getting a feel for one another as well.
Howard hired longtime St. Joseph’s head coach Phil Martelli (1995-2019) and former NBA assistant and Detroit Southwestern High School graduate Howard Eisley to fill out the remainder of his staff, and Washington spoke about how well the group has come together so far.
“Coach has kind of handed out some responsibilities to us, but we’ve also all been in the game for so long in various capacities, that we just kind of do what we do,” he explained.
“Coach Phil and I have been very helpful for Coach Juwan and Coach H[oward Eisley], helping them understand the consistency and the persistent way you have to keep up with recruiting.
“I love our staff and love the dynamic we have, and the knowledge we have among this group is second to none. We’re all looking forward to learning more from one another, and great things can happen when you have that kind of environment.”
Though senior point guard Zavier Simpson, senior center Jon Teske and junior forward Isaiah Livers will obviously make up the core of the team in 2019-20, the development of the sophomore class (center Colin Castleton, forward Brandon Johns, and guards David DeJulius and Adrien Nunez) will also go a long way in determining how successful the Wolverines are next season.
Washington spoke about the progress the quartet has made this offseason and how crucial they will be next year.
“They all stayed in Ann Arbor this summer, so that was the first good sign,” he exclaimed. “They’ve worked their butts off in the weight room with SandMan [strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson], and we’ve now been able to get our hands on them in recent weeks from a coaching perspective.
“It’s all about confidence with them, because they can just kind of play and flow out of instinct, and all four of those young guys have responded and have had productive summers.
“We’re going to need them to step up and be ready to go.”
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