Final Four 2026: Sometimes 'corny' but always 'vital,' Cori Close's motivational style powers UCLA to second straight semifinal
Cori Close is a walking vision board featuring a larger stash of phrases than the wins her Bruins accumulated en route to the Final Four.
PHOENIX — It’s hard to envision a motivational quote or phrase Cori Close doesn’t like. The UCLA head coach is a walking vision board featuring a larger stash of phrases than the wins her Bruins accumulated en route to the Final Four. The underpinning of her coaching style can be a lot, an undersell if there ever was one, given the looks on UCLA players’ faces in their Final Four locker room when asked how quickly Close whips them out one after another.
“Oh my God, how many more of these can she say? ” freshman center Sienna Betts recalled thinking upon her first Close experience. “Like please, stop.
” The No. 2-ranked recruit wasn’t the only one initially puzzled at how easily quotes flow from Close in regular conversation. “I was taken aback, like, I wasn’t sure if she was serious or not,” redshirt sophomore Amanda Muse told Yahoo Sports.
“And then I was like, oh, she actually says this super often. ” Cori Close's motivational phrases are a cornerstone of her coaching arsenal. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Gina Ferazzi via Getty Images It is a quality that can be disorienting to hear in her interviews if unaccustomed.
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