In one of the weirder coaching changes that we have seen in recent years, Cleveland State has fired head coach Dennis Felton and his staff in the middle of the only July live period worth anything.
Felton, who was previously the head coach at Western Kentucky and Georgia, spent two seasons in Cleveland, where he went 22-44 overall and just 11-25 in the Horizon.
Perhaps the strangest part of the firing was the statement that the school released.
“We take our mission to provide CSU student-athletes with a transformational experience very seriously. Our coaches operate with the expectation that they should build a culture supportive of our student-athletes in the classroom, accountable for their conduct as representatives of the University, and for their performance on the court,” said Athletic Director Scott Garrett. “We will seek a new leader for our program who can deliver on this commitment.”
He didn’t pull any punches.
Cleveland State has lost four players to transfer this offseason, most notably their best player, Tyree Appleby.