Ep 2892 How Did Cori Close Build a Championship Culture at UCLA?

Basketball Coach Unplugged (A Basketball Coaching Podcast)

teachhoops.com

Education, Sports, Basketball, How To

4.9 • 555 Ratings

🗓️ 6 April 2026

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

https://teachhoops.com/⁠ Cori Close’s UCLA rebuild is a blueprint for any coach trying to modernize a program with tradition: build a culture that scales, develop talent on purpose, and train the mental game like it’s part of practice. Why this matters: UCLA just won the 2026 NCAA women’s national championship with a dominant 79–51 win over South Carolina. 1) Culture: “Broom + Shovel” leadership Close uses a broom and shovel as daily reminders: serve first (broom) and dig below the surface (shovel). For high school coaches: your culture is built in the small things—how you treat managers, how you handle mistakes, how you model service. 2) Talent + Development: recruit it, then accelerate it UCLA added elite talent like Lauren Betts and built a roster that could dominate physically. But the key development lesson: when Close brought in a top freshman class, those freshmen averaged 19.0 minutes per game—a deliberate investment in growth. 3) Mental performance: the “Mind Gym” isn’t optional UCLA built a daily mental routine—highlight clips, mindset work, and reset habits—to help players stay present and return to neutral after mistakes. If the mental side is “most of the game,” it has to be trained—consistently. April 4, 2015: UCLA won the program’s first WNIT title under Close. March 25, 2018: UCLA reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 1999. April 5, 2026: UCLA won its first NCAA-era national title. Start practice with “What went well” (train attention, not just correction) Install a reset cue (“Next” / “Neutral” + breath + physical action) Assign daily servant leadership habits to captains (“broom work”) Give young players real reps—short, role-based minutes that build the future The 3 Strategic PillarsKey Milestones (the long game)What High School Coaches Can Steal This Week⁠The Wall Street JournalUCLA Wins Its First NCAA Title in Women's BasketballToday⁠⁠theguardian.comNCAA women's national championship: South Carolina 51-79 UCLA - as it happened!Today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast is part of the Sports Social Podcast Network.
0:05.8	From the fifth quarter studios in Madison, Wisconsin, you're listening to Coach Unplugged.
0:12.7	And now, your host, Steve Collins.
0:19.0	Coach, before we get into it, go to t-tubes.com.
0:21.8	That's where I keep the resources that make coaching simpler, practice plans,
0:25.5	culture tools, player development frameworks, t-tubes.com.
0:30.0	All right, I want to talk about one of the best coaching case studies in the country.
0:35.7	Corey Close, UCLA Women's basketball, 15 seasons, a blue
0:42.5	blood name on the front of the jersey, and now a national championship.
0:48.6	UCLA just won the 2006 NCAA title beating South Carolina 79 to 51.
0:56.9	And they didn't squeak by.
0:59.3	They dominated the game.
1:01.7	So today is not a wow,
1:04.0	their talented episode.
1:05.7	This is a coaching episode.
1:07.5	Because what Close did is what a lot of high school coaches are trying to do.
1:13.6	Take a program with tradition and modernize it, upgrade it, and get it to the next level.
1:20.6	Here are the three pillars that jumped out to me.
1:23.6	Pillar one, culture, the broom and the shovel. Close keeps a broom and a shovel in her office.
1:32.7	The broom is a reminder of servant leadership. Whoever is closest to the broom sweeps. The shovel is a reminder to dig below the surface and invest in people, not just players.
1:48.6	Coach, that is a high school lesson right there.
1:52.7	If your leadership is I'm the boss, you'll get compliance.
	...

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