Saddi Washington enters his eighth season as assistant coach on the men's basketball staff at Oakland. Washington primarily works with the guards for the Golden Grizzlies.

Washington is responsible for brining some of the best recruits in the backcourt to Oakland. Under his tenure, OU's Johnathon Jones led the country with 8.1 assists per game in 2008-09 and became the first NCAA statistical champion in Golden Grizzlies history. Travis Bader was next in line by leading the country with a Summit League record 139 3-pointers in 2012-13. Finally, Duke Mondy earned NCAA champion recognition when he finished the 2012-13 season with a school record 100 steals. Oakland was the first team in league history to have a pair of NCAA statistical champions in the same season.

Jones developed in to one of the finest point guards in Summit League history, setting a new all-time league record with 819 assists. Jones finished as a two-time Mid-Major All-American and All-Summit League first team selection. Bader, a Mid-Major Player of the Year finalist, was a first team all-league selection and Mondy garnered all-league second team accolades in 2013.

Another sharpshooter under Washington was Erik Kangas who ranked fourth in the country with 3.9 treys per game, earning all-league honors for the second time during his senior campaign in 2008-09. He set the single-season Summit League record with 135 triples made in 2008-09, a record that is now held by current standout Bader.

Reggie Hamilton was the latest sensational guard for OU, becoming the first Summit League player to lead the country in scoring at 26.2 points per game. Hamilton was a two-time All-Summit League selection and a Mid-Major All-American. He is the third straight guard to reach the professional ranks during Washington's tenure.

Washington brings plenty of playing experience to the Golden Grizzlies staff, with seven years of professional competition under his belt. He was the No. 1 overall draft pick in the Continental Basketball Association in 1998 by the Grand Rapids Hoops and has played overseas in Italy, France, Greece and Israel. In 2001 he was a member of the Detroit Dogs of the ABA that won the leagues inaugural title. He has also been at NBA preseason camps with a number of teams, including the Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks.

A 1998 graduate of Western Michigan University with a degree in business/marketing, Washington was inducted into his alma mater's Hall of Fame in the fall 2010. In 1994 he was named to the Mid-American Conference all-freshman team after averaging 14.0 points per game. A two-time All-MAC selection, he was a first team pick after his senior season in 1998 after scoring 626 points, averaging 21.6 per game. He helped lead the Broncos to the NCAA tournament that season where they upset Clemson in the first round.

A native of Lansing, Mich., Washington attended Sexton High School where he was a four-year letterwinner in basketball and track, receiving all-state recognition in both sports in 1993. He and his wife Channon reside in Waterford with their daughter Sidney and son Caleb.

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