NCAA Basketball: Potential replacements for recent fired coaches
By Joey Loose
Western Michigan
Following 17 years as head coach, Steve Hawkins‘ time with the Broncos came to an end following a few struggling seasons. He led Western Michigan to the NCAA Tournament in 2004 and 2014 but was just 21-43 the last two years. Hawkins received interest for other head coaching positions early in his tenure, but stayed with the Broncos, though they failed to establish themselves in the MAC on a regular basis.
This team had struggled on the defensive end in recent seasons, but this was a really young roster. The top six scorers were all set to return next season, though we’ll have to see if any of them transfer away from the program. For now, junior guard Michael Flowers (16.9 ppg) and junior forward Brandon Johnson (15.4 ppg) provide a fantastic core to build around going forward. The Broncos tied for last in the MAC West and won just 13 games this year, but next year’s team could be really dangerous with the right leadership in place.
Enter Saddi Washington, who’s spent the last four seasons as an assistant at Michigan. A native of the state, not only has Washington spent his whole career working in Michigan, but he played collegiate ball at Western Michigan in the 1990’s. He coached at the high school level under Nate Oats and spent a decade as an assistant at Oakland. He was retained by new Michigan coach Juwan Howard after helping the Wolverines to the national title game in 2018. This would be his first head coaching position, but he’s a brilliant young assistant who’s already being coveted by mid-major programs across the Midwest. How Washington would handle being the head man remains to be seen, but he has the connections and experience to make it work.