Mar 25
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Finalists for NPOY and COY
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Naismith Fan Vote |
Finalists for NPOY and COY
Janiah Barker refused to shake hands with her former UCLA coach, Cori Close, after Tennessee's loss
seeing cori’s reaction to her girls getting drafted is moving me icl
UCLA's Cori Close got emotional recalling the time she coached Azzi Fudd and Lauren Betts with USA Basketball. Now she'll face Fudd in the F
TAMPA, Fla. — Cori Close still gets emotional when she thinks about coaching USA Basketball at the U19 FIBA World Cup in 2021, and it has nothing to do with the games.
There were two players — one that eventually became her own at UCLA — who carried her a bit through that tournament. UCLA star center Lauren Betts and UConn standout Azzi Fudd weren't just her players. They were her rocks as she handled the loss of her father, who died while Close was at the World Cup.
Close gathered the team to tell them, and she remembers the circle of players sharing the grief she was navigating.
"Their response to me was just tremendous," Close said Thursday during a media day ahead of the women's NCAA Tournament Final Four. "Azzi, she just has incredible work ethic. She's an elite player and she has a very tender heart. And I was the beneficiary of that on that trip, and I'll be forever grateful."
Close recruited both Fudd and Betts. Both turned her down coming out of high school, although Betts ended up transferring to UCLA after her freshman season. Now No. 1 seed UCLA (34-2) will face No. 2 seed UConn (35-3) in the Final Four at Amalie Arena on Friday (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Fudd said Close was one of her favorite coaches to be recruited by, and having her as a coach with USA Basketball was "incredible." It stuck with Fudd, the fact that Close chose to be with them and coach them that August even though her father was sick. It showed Fudd what kind of person Close was and the loyalty she had.
Close recruited both Fudd and Betts. Both turned her down coming out of high school, although Betts ended up transferring to UCLA after her freshman season. Now No. 1 seed UCLA (34-2) will face No. 2 seed UConn (35-3) in the Final Four at Amalie Arena on Friday (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Fudd said Close was one of her favorite coaches to be recruited by, and having her as a coach with USA Basketball was "incredible." It stuck with Fudd, the fact that Close chose to be with them and coach them that August even though her father was sick. It showed Fudd what kind of person Close was and the loyalty she had.
"This is for your dad," they told her. "We're just so grateful for you still showing up for us."
That experience created "a huge bond" for Betts and Close, who still brings it up on occasion.
Even though it was only a month that they were together, Fudd felt like they were Close's second family. She wanted Close to know they were there to support her and wanted to give her enough love to carry her through. They did everything they could to be there for Close.
"Even though I wasn't committed to her at the time, I still have a heart and I still understand how hard that moment was for her," Betts said. "For her to still be there as a coach and show up and do her job, I just felt, you know, so much love for her in that moment."
no way cori close is coty
i’m sick y’all vic and geno not even in the RUNNING
“We have all these people growing and mastering their craft, with no place to go in the United States. It’s just really sad that those are the conversations we’re having to have with our league and our college game being so healthy and vibrant and growing.”
—Coach Cori Close on the lack of WNBA roster spots for all this talent coming out of college basketball in recent years.
Everyone acting like Dallas don’t need a whole lot of everything. They have no great vets so they’re gonna NEED to get some through free agents. Dallas can benefit from a lot of players but no rook will benefit from a team with no good vets to guide and help them improve. Remember that game where I think Rebecca said some about players passing the ball back to Paige and not helping to create plays/score? It’s also been so evident that international players don’t come with immediate impact and need to adapt. I also just think Lauren’s overrated and if you pair her against a’ja, stewie, phee? She’s getting her ass beat 10 times out of 10. I just haven’t seen MUCH improvement from her especially over this past summer break to now. Paige and Azzi are an established duo but also, I’d love for Azzi to have her own vet. Arike’s okay but idk meyn lmao
ngl was reading this and thought lauren jackson caught a stray
but yes exactly you need vets especially when you’re going through a rebuild and paige is a player people are eager to play with it’s not like everyone is a scrub and obviously with unrivaled she’s gonna be going into it like a gm
a rookie being the leader isn’t always going to work because they don’t have the experience a vet would in wnba game situations because although it’s similar to college it’s not the same and it’s obvious form the coaches to the players there was some ??? regarding what was happening on the floor
i’m not big on anyone from ucla to be quite honest i don’t think cori close is good at her job
if azzi comes arike will be leaving !!! they definitely will be getting a vet in the guard spot and post spot anyway so that doesn’t really matter
i feel like you have to look at what seattle and vegas do after having b2b #1 picks and build around them because they were able to turn it around and win championships they’ve already got a head start with a coaching change and i’m hoping he can lead the team much better than #him
when you come in as the #1 pick obviously people are going to be looking to you for things but like most players going into that situation have a vet they can look up to and dallas was literally injury central and the old face wasn’t working with the new face
UCLA storms to its first NCAA women’s basketball title, overpowering South Carolina 79–51 in Phoenix. A historic night for the Bruins, led by Gabriela Jaquez and MOP Lauren Betts. #NCAAW #UCLA #MarchMadness #FanZone