Colorado State basketball coach Tim Miles said Monday he granted a scholarship release to signee Javon Dawson who will follow ex-Rams assistant DeMarlo Slocum to the new Utah staff.
Dawson, a 6-foot-7, 260-pound power forward, had the option of staying another year at Gulf Coast Community College (Panama City, Fla.) if Miles didn’t grant the release.
Miles said he heard Dawson was down about Slocum’s departure. However, he saw no benefit in denying the release if Dawson didn’t want to be in Fort Collins.
Miles isn’t holding a grudge against his former assistant.
“Sloke and I talk about recruiting is fair game. All recruits are fair game,” Miles said Monday. “Recruiting is a war and I’d never let a kid come between a friendship.”
Dawson sat out what would have been his sophomore year at the Florida two-year school. He tore his ACL before the season, started giving him three years of eligibility at the NCAA Division I level.
Cody Mann, a 6-0 point guard who signed last week, is CSU’s only newcomer eligible to play next season. Miles said he was having two recruits visit campus this weekend. The CSU coach also confirmed basketball operations director Randy Baruth is joining Slocum in Salt Lake City.
Natalie Meisler: 303 954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
