John Beilein Announces Billy Donlon, Saddi Washington as Coaching Staff Hires

Michigan Basketball has hired Billy Donlon and Saddi Washington to fill its two assistant coaching vacancies, the program announced on Wednesday afternoon. The news was first reported by ESPN's Jeff Goodman earlier in the day.

Beilein had this to say in the statement released:

"We are forever grateful for the fine work that LaVall Jordan and Bacari Alexander brought to our program over the past six years," said Beilein. "Their departures, however, have opened up a great opportunity for our staff to grow. Billy Donlon and Saddi Washington are exactly who I felt we needed to be able to continue our success and compete for more Big Ten championships.

"I have known Billy for almost two decades, and I love his passion and IQ for the game. He has tremendous experience as a player, assistant and head coach at the Division I level. Improving our defense is a huge goal for us, and defense is one of Billy's specialties. He is also excellent in skill development, and that has been a key to our success at Michigan. I am excited to have Billy join our staff, the athletics department and this University.

"Saddi and I have known each other since his days at Western Michigan when I coached against them. We have also talked a lot of basketball in my nine years here at Michigan. Saddi is an outstanding teacher of the game, and I love that he can coach multiple positions. He has established great relationships as a recruiter both in and out of the state of Michigan. His poise and presence remind me of LaVall, and I know he will be a great asset to our program."

Donlon joins the staff after spending the last 10 years at Wright State, the last six of which were spent as head coach. He was also an assistant at UNC Wilmington from 2002-06.

Washington spent the last decade as a member of Greg Kampe's coaching staff at Oakland, where he was the associate head coach the last three seasons.

Both men replaced LaVall Jordan and Bacari Alexander, who left the program last month for head coaching vacancies at Milwaukee and Detroit, respectively.

This story is developing.