UCLA’s Cori Close, always humbly leading, upholds John Wooden’s legacy

Cori Close still visits with him to this day, before every home game.

As she walks down a hallway inside Pauley Pavilion, John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success to her left and all of his teams’ championship banners to her right, Close engages in an internal dialogue with her beloved mentor.

“I sort of say, ‘Papa, I hope I make you proud,’ ” Close told The California Post, the UCLA women’s basketball coach choking up. “ ‘May I teach and coach in a way that reflects the amazing example you gave me, and if I can be half of that today, it will be a good day.’ ” 

Lately, there has been little besides good days.

What else would there be? Close and her team have manifested the ideals of perhaps the most legendary coach in sports history, putting process above results, character above recognition.

It’s probably no coincidence that they’ve also mirrored the dominance Wooden achieved while collecting a record 10 national championships.

Winners of a program-record 25 consecutive games, including a 51-point demolition of Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament championship, UCLA (31-1) is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a trendy pick to win it all.

The winningest women’s coach in UCLA history, Close has wondered what Wooden might say about those who keep telling her that this is her year, that it’s championship or bust for a super team that might feature six players taken in the first round of the WNBA draft.

“I think he would say it actually is something you don’t have control over,” Close said, “so to put your energy there actually distracts from the process that it would really take to play your best when your best is needed.”

Cori Close, John Wooden talked about much more than basketball

As the story goes, she could hardly utter her name when they met.

By then, Close had heard stories about the great John Wooden for a decade. She remembers her father and a high school coach discussing the celebrated figure in the 1980s, though the conversation didn’t fully resonate.

When she was a point guard at UC Santa Barbara, preparing to travel down the 101 Freeway to face UCLA, her coach gave a history lesson on not just the Bruins’ women but also Wooden. The point was to fully convey the challenge his team faced in such a historic venue as Pauley Pavilion.

After the Gauchos knocked off the Bruins in that December 1991 game, Close remembers teammate Erika Kienast calling her father in celebration on the van ride home.

“We went into Coach Wooden’s house and we won, Dad, we won!” Kienast exclaimed, her words finally making Close understand what a big deal this retired coach was.

Two years later, as a UCLA women’s assistant, Close scored an invite among a group of coaches visiting the icon at his modest Encino condominium. She was the only female in the bunch.

Spotting the outlier, Wooden asked who she was.

So frazzled that she stumbled through the pronunciation of her first name, Close was asked to spell it. Doing so prompted Wooden to summon her into the den to examine a stool inscribed with the same name.

His great-granddaughter’s name.

Thus began a 17-year friendship filled with discussions about character, faith, family and occasionally basketball.

“It was about his love of his players, it was about his philosophy,” Close said, “but it was also just about his love of poetry or history — I mean, all the things that he was passionate about because every time he spoke, you knew there was going to be a principle or a lesson or a story that you just never were going to want to miss.”

During her two seasons as a UCLA assistant, she would visit every other Tuesday. Over the next nine years, having returned to her alma mater, she would drive down from Santa Barbara at least once a month.

When Close moved across the country to Florida State, becoming the Seminoles’ associate head coach, she would plan return trips to visit her parents around Wooden’s schedule. That meant flying into Los Angeles International Airport and driving straight to his condominium.

She would often bring his favorite flavors of Baskin-Robbins ice cream, giving him a hard time about diving into the lemon custard or strawberry if he hadn’t eaten anything substantive beforehand.

Their final conversation before Wooden’s passing in June 2010 — 10 months before Close was named UCLA’s coach — came over the phone. Angel Gray, the ESPN announcer who was then a communications student at Florida State, was completing a project on Wooden. Stumping Close with some of her questions, Close suggested they call the retired coach, leading to a 20-minute conversation.

“Her face was just priceless,” Close recalled, “and I was telling him about what she was trying to do and the kind of person she was trying to become, and he was just so gracious to her and encouraging and it just was spectacular.”

Cori Close exudes Wooden wholesomeness

She must have heard the story a hundred times.

Before every season, Wooden would show his players how to put on their socks and shoes just the right way to avoid blisters.

Inviting former Bruins forward Rafer Johnson to make the same demonstration to her team, Close thought she was paying homage to her favorite coach.

As Johnson spoke of being insecure at UCLA because he was primarily a sprinter surrounded by some of the nation’s biggest basketball stars, he looked into the eyes of each of Close’s players. He told them it didn’t matter how good they were, where they were from, what religion they practiced or what race they were.

This simple routine showed they were all the same.

“I thought to myself, oh my gosh, what an idiot I am,” Close said. “This isn’t about blisters, this isn’t about bad shoes — this is about a baseline of teamwork and unity and chemistry and appreciation for each other.”

Starting and ending almost every news conference by thanking the media for covering women’s basketball, Close exudes Wooden wholesomeness. Some of her sayings — “We over me” and “Surrender the outcome, focus on growth” — sound like they come straight out of the handbook of a coach who preferred the women’s game to the men’s because of a greater focus on fundamentals and teamwork.

“I just feel like she’s very similar,” said Cathleen Trapani, Wooden’s granddaughter. “Cori has that same kind of personality where she’s not swearing at the girls, she treats them with respect and in turn they respect her as well.”

At practices, Close shows her appreciation for players by wearing their jerseys, jackets and other items from the NIL store. But she doesn’t baby them, kicking anyone out of practice who is being selfish. Come back another day, she tells them.

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So far this season, she hasn’t had to enforce that rule.

“We always tell them,” Close said, referring to her coaching staff’s message to players, “the only two things you get to take with you from these four years is who you become and who you impact.”

Like her cherished predecessor, Close’s impact exceeds any mantra.

“As a player I feel very cared about, very supported,” Bruins guard Gabriela Jaquez said, “and I’m super thankful that she goes about her coaching like that.”

John Wooden’s principles continue to guide UCLA coach

Some of Wooden’s principles are helping Close in a way she never imagined.

The college basketball landscape has changed so dramatically the last few years that her job description has expanded from teaching, coaching and recruiting to also dealing with agents, raising funds and re-recruiting her own players.

“I am struggling with the balance of all this,” said Close, who turns 55 in July. “I am struggling with my desire to be competitive for championships year in and year out and have sustained excellence and keep the main thing the main thing and actually have a life — I’ve had no life the last two years.”

This is where the perspective of her mentor nourishes her anew. Wooden liked to say that the two most important words in the English language were love and balance.

“I think I still have the love,” Close said, “but I think I have some work to do to find the balance and the integration.”

Wooden also said that focusing on things out of your control adversely affected things under your control. Maybe that’s why the coach with the most NCAA men’s basketball titles talked about winning the least.

Close is practically an extended member of the Wooden family now, invited to memorial services and included on panels to share reminiscences on the coach’s birthday. She has special Bruins pillows in her office made by the other Cori — Cori Andersen, Wooden’s great-granddaughter — and is hoping that Josh Wooden, the coach’s great-grandson, can intern with her team this summer.

“It’s more for me,” Close said of spending time with the Wooden family, “than it is for them.”

Her favorite way to honor the coach is to live the principles he taught. They were reflected in a recent practice plan that focused on players committing to improvement and giving selflessly to one another.

“I just want them to say that that is the real victory, that is what really matters,” Close said, “and I think as a result, they’ll play their best in that state of mind.”

One might say those words have a familiar ring.

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