Colorado State basketball players weren’t expecting to start their spring break Monday with a call from Dale Layer telling them he was relieved of his coaching duties.
“I talked to some of the guys. Everyone is a little shocked,” center Stuart Creason said Tuesday. “It’s hard to deal with.”
Said guard Tyler Smith: “I think it’s an unfortunate situation. It caught me off guard when he called and told me.”
Smith said he felt worse for assistant Brian Joyce, also his junior college coach in Sterling.
CSU brings back four seniors next year. Creason graduates in May but wants to return as a fifth-year senior.
“No one told me they planned on transferring,” Creason said. “Anytime there is a change in coaches, someone is chased off. It’s tough to say. A lot of us are in shock.”
Meanwhile, Layer spent Tuesday on the phone looking for leads for his three assistant coaches. After nine years at the school, including two as an assistant, he knew he had a long run.
“It was a good experience for my family and me,” he said. “We learned a lot and my daughter is graduating from CSU in May. We were blessed and happy to have been here.”
Layer said will meet with his former players when they return from spring break “to close the chapter the right way.”
Footnotes
Heath Shroyer, a former Wyoming assistant hired by current Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman at Portland State, is the focus of attention in Wyoming’s search. Shroyer is an assistant at Fresno State. … Veteran CSU senior women’s administrator Marsha Smeltzer is moving to the school’s recreation department. Associate athletic director for business Phil Goldstein also is leaving.
Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
