Michigan State basketball hits home run, hires former Michigan assistant Saddi Washington

Michigan State basketball has made a splash hire, adding former Michigan assistant and Recruiter of the Year, Saddi Washington.

After months of speculation regarding the vacant assistant coaching position, Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo has finally made a decision regarding his final open spot on the team ahead of the 2024-25 season.

Izzo has officially hired former Michigan and Oakland assistant Saddi Washington, per Justin Thind of 247Sports.

#MichiganState has hired Saddi Washington as an assistant, the school has announced.

The Lansing native is a skilled developer & a former 247Sports Recruiter of the Year.

Tom Izzo has long-respected the former #Michigan & #Oakland lead ass’t.https://t.co/GeQwLHj7VE pic.twitter.com/LnPH83i1SF

— Justin Thind (@JustinThind) June 6, 2024

This is one of those hires that could actually help turn the program back around in the right direction. Washington was the lead recruiter on Michigan’s staff and was even named the Recruiter of the Year back in 2021. He helped Michigan land Caleb Houstan, Moussa Diabate, Kobe Bufkin, and Frankie Collins in that class and that’s something the staff could desperately use. Washington could help the Spartans close on top recruits.

Not only is Washington one of the better recruiters in the nation, but he’s also an excellent developer of bigs. He’s going to come in and finally give the post players a legit voice. Michigan State hasn’t had that since Dwayne Stephens. This is a big development.

Heading into the 2024-25 season, Michigan State’s clear weakness has to be in the post with Jaxson Kohler, Szymon Zapala, and Carson Cooper manning the center position with Xavier Booker at the four. Washington should be able to come in and help these guys figure out their weaknesses and turn them into strengths. This immediately improves the outlook for the upcoming season.

Michigan State really hit a home run here. Washington is the type of coach that the team needs and Izzo was able to go out and get the job done. Surprisingly he was still on the market but this deal may have been in the works for a while — it was rumored over a month ago.

I don’t know about you, but I’m now excited for the 2024-25 Michigan State basketball season.