Speaks to how much he likes aa and how much he thinks of juwan even after one year
Quite the opposite from what we see on the football side of things where assistants cant wait to get away from Harbaugh. Thrilled that Washington chose to stay, says so much about Juwan
You have to appreciate Saddi Washington. He interviewed for the head coaching job, but didn’t let his ego get in the way of a potentially great thing. Helped transition things and helped keep everything together with the players he knew and recruited.
Not even comparable.
What do you mean?
Assistants routinely left from Michigan Basketball. Michigan Football assistants usually get promotions elsewhere. I do think we needed to keep Patridge.
Your comparison between the 2 and attempted dig at Harbaugh. Not similar situations and not an actual weakness on Harbaughs end
Are you sure? Football and basketball are completely different, of course. But lots of assistants have left Harbaugh for lateral moves lately and there have been lots of reports of guys being unhappy with Jim. I mean seriously, having a couple guys leave for OSU was pretty bad too. The assistant coaching stuff has been a big criticism against Harbaugh, no?
Anyways, I like Harbaugh, but that “dig” seemed to be a real criticism this offseason (guess I gotta go find the article links now haha). Don’t wanna distract from the point here which is that I think its super cool to see Saddi stay and shows how much he must like being here and being with Juwan. I’ll try not to bring up football though, I guess we have a thread for that and it is a sore spot for all of us. My bad
I would hardly say they cant wait to get away. All those guys left for big promotions.
I definitely prefer basketball talk right now 
Yeah my bad. And quick correction here, I said “lateral moves” but in fact many of those were promotions, though they were very far from being “big promotions”. I will stand by the fact that I read that lots of people on their way out were critical of Harbaugh, particularly his recruiting practices, though many of those assistants chose to stay anonymous.
I gotta say, as pleased as I am with Saddi staying, I am very surprised. I saw that opening and instantly thought he would be gone, and it would have made total sense for him to go. He must really believe in Juwan and whats going on over here. Anyone else surprised (pleasantly surprised, of course)??
Definitely surprised. I also saw someone in the AMA mention that WMU is kind of a tire fire of an athletic department. So very possible Saddi feels like if he sticks it out he can get a better job.
Yeah WMU being a tire fire would explain a lot. I also get them and Oakland mixed up a lot for some reason and I know Oakland has been solid in recent years, whereas I know very little about WMU. Smart of him to turn down a possible HC offer especially it being his alma mater, when he can wait it out and do better.
I wonder now about Phil and Howard Eisley of course, but man, it makes a huge difference to know one of these guys will be sticking around moving forward. Especially since Saddi is the one guy who links together the old and new eras.
Maybe wait it out and do better in terms of an athletic department, but highly doubtful a big ten assistant would get a head coach offer from a league better than the MAC
Put yourself in Saddi’s shoes. Would you leave a top-25 program and one with a top-5 recruiting class (imagine the ceiling) for a mere 50-75K raise? That would disrupt family life and add major stress-regardless of the potential long-term upside. Maybe he just wants to get back to the Final Four and have a shot a a NC with Juwan. It’s not always about the money…
Definitely all good points. I just feel that typically as an assistant with no HC experience, when you have a potential HC offer from a school that is A) in a solid league and B) your alma mater, then it would be a pretty good fit. Especially with it not being a huge move across the country or anything. But again, those are all great points you make and I think Michigan definitely has a ton going right now. kturnup mentioned that WMU has been said to have a mediocre athletic department so if thats true, then that has to be a big factor.
For sure. But that has a lot to do with it. It’s why Grand Canyon was a desirable job even though they have no history and are in a bad conference.
One other x-factor is COVID-19. You think Howard was tossed into a bit of an unplanned mess, imagine taking a new role at WMU and worst-case scenario - players not being able to gather/practice for gym workouts or on the court until September(?). That sounds very unappealing to me. Saddi is not desperate and another year of learning from JW and maybe Phil seems more valuable than any level of success at WMU long-term.