Tom Izzo received an interesting recommendation to hire Saddi Washington
A few weeks ago, Tom Izzo made one of the biggest decisions he faced this offseason by hiring former Michigan assistant coach Saddi Washington who is a Lansing native. He comes to Michigan State basketball with an elite resume including winning 247Sports Recruiter of the Year during his time in Ann Arbor.
Washington's resume speaks for itself, but there were many other candidates out there who were deserving to join Izzo's staff as well. But Washington had one thing on his side that nobody else had, a recommendation from a Hall of Fame coach that Izzo, and all Spartan fans, are extremely familiar with.
John Beilein recommended Washington
One of the best coaches in Big Ten history is John Beilein, who had an amazing college basketball career that ended at Michigan four years ago. Beilein was the coach who hired Washington at Michigan, and he reportedly gave Izzo a call after Washington interviewed for the open job this summer recommending that Izzo hire him.
Saddi Washington said on @drivewithjack that when he interviewed with Michigan, Izzo called up Beilein and recommended him and 8 years later when Washington was interviewing with MSU, Beilein called up Izzo and recommended him.
— Andrew Cumbow (@ACumbow) June 14, 2024
You make think it's strange for a former rival of Izzo's to recommend he hire one of the best up and coming coaches on the market, but this just goes to show how special of a rivalry this was not so long ago.
When Beilein was still the coach at Michigan, both the Wolverines and Spartans were dominating the Big Ten. Those heated games where both coaches, teams and fanbases wanted to destroy the other cultivated one thing: respect.
There is only one Michigan coach (current or former) that I like even a little bit. And that is Beilein, who I happen to like a lot. I loved the way he ran their program and the sport was just more fun to watch when Michigan was good along with Michigan State.
And I think it's safe to say that Beilein and Izzo have that same respect for each other.
Izzo recommended Washington to Beilein eight years ago and the former Michigan coach has now returned the favor. Typically you don't see rivals helping each other out, but that's the main reason why this in-state rivalry was one of the best for many years in all of college basketball.
Now let's just hope that Washington does as much good in East Lansing as he did in Ann Arbor.