Saddi Washington - Men's Basketball Coach - Michigan State University Athletics

Saddi Washington

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
msuhoops@ath.msu.edu
Phone:
355-1643

Michigan State men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo announced the addition of Saddi Washington, a Lansing native and the son of former Spartan great Stan Washington, to his staff as an assistant coach in June 2024.

Washington came to the Michigan State program with nearly two decades of coaching experience, including eight years at Michigan. In joining the Spartans, Washington is part of a program just down the road from his childhood home and at the school where both his parents and his young brother attended.

Last year, in his first in East Lansing, MSU finished the season with a 30-7 overall record, extended its NCAA Tournament streak to 27-straight appearances, reached the Elite Eight and finished the season ranked No.7 in the country. The Spartans posted a 17-3 record in the Big Ten Conference and won the league’s regular season title by three games, with two players earning all-conference honors.

While at Michigan, Washington was responsible for working with the team’s wings and coordinated defensive strategies, helping guide the Wolverines to 176 wins, including a program-record 33 during the 2017-18 season when they closed the season with a national runner-up finish.

During his eight-year run at UM, the Wolverines won 10-plus Big Ten games seven times (84-66) and the team won the 2021 regular season title and back-to-back B1G Tournaments (2017-18), made appearances in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, reached the 2018 Final Four and the national title game against Villanova.

On the floor, Washington was instrumental in the development of All-Big Ten Wolverines Ignas Brazdeikis, Moussa Diabate', Caleb Houstan, Isaiah Livers, Jordan Poole, Franz and Moritz Wagner and D.J. Wilson. All eight heard their names called at the NBA Draft, including lottery pick Franz Wagner (No. 8, Orlando) in 2021.

Prior to his arrival at UM, Washington spent a decade with Oakland University (2006-16) in Rochester. For the first seven seasons, he served as an assistant before a 2013 promotion elevated him to associate head coach. Working under Oakland's legendary coach Greg Kampe, the Grizzlies compiled 198 wins, with five 20-plus win seasons during Washington's tenure.
The Grizzlies made back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament after winning two straight Summit League regular-season and conference tournament titles (2010, '11). During the course of those two seasons, Oakland was 34-2 in conference play as the Grizzlies recorded back-to-back 17-1 win league records.

Washington created a reputation for developing some of the top mid-major players in the country while at Oakland, including five players who led the country in a statistical category during their time with the Golden Grizzlies

Following a seven-year professional career overseas and in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), Washington started his coaching career serving as a volunteer assistant coach at MHSAA powerhouse Romulus High School (2005) under head coach Nate Oats, who is currently the head coach at Alabama.

As a professional, Washington was the No. 1-overall draft pick in the 1998 CBA Draft by the Grand Rapids Hoops, while also having professional stints in Italy, France, Greece and Israel. In 2001, he was a member of the Detroit Dogs of the American Basketball Association (ABA) that went on to win the league's inaugural championship.

Washington graduated from Western Michigan University in 1998, double majoring in business management and marketing. While in Kalamazoo, Washington was a star for the Broncos on the court, earning All-Freshman team honors in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in 1994 and then earned second team (1997) and first team honors (1998). As a senior in 1998, he helped guide the team to a 21-8 record with a team-best 626 points (21.6 ppg), while adding 4.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists as the Broncos earned a No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament and upset No. 6 seed Clemson for the program’s first D1 NCAA Tournament win.

A two-time MAC All-Academic selection (1997-98), Washington played in 102 games, finishing with 1,688 points (16.5 ppg), 413 rebounds (4.0 rpg) and 258 assists (2.5 apg). He still ranks among Western Michigan’s all-time top-10 in seven categories – points (1,688; 6th), steals (173; 5th), minutes per game (32.7; 2nd), field goals made (575; 5th), field goal attempts (1,323; 5th), free throws made (394; 7th) and free throw attempts (505; 9th). In 2010, he was inducted into the WMU Hall of Fame.

A native of Lansing, Mich., Washington prepped at Lansing Sexton High School, where he was a four-year letterwinner in basketball and track & field, receiving all-state recognition in both sports.

He and his wife, Channon, have two children -- daughter, Sidney, and son, Caleb.

Washington's late father, Stan, ranks No. 33 all-time in scoring at MSU with 1,242 points. He averaged 18.0 points and 10.5 points from 1964-66 and was a three-time All-Big Ten selection, earning third team honors in 1964, second team in 1965 and first team in 1966. His career scoring average (18.0) ranks No. 6 all-time, while he ranks No. 5 all-time in rebound average (10.5 rpg).