Former Milpitas star Cori Close keeps John Wooden principles alive at UCLA

It’s about 20 minutes after UCLA’s second-round win over Richmond in the women’s NCAA Tournament and Cori Close has taken a seat alongside two of her players at the postgame press conference.

This in itself qualifies as news. Because throughout the entirety of the Bruins’ 84-67 win at Pauley Pavilion, Close never sat down. She was in constant motion in front of the UCLA bench, exhorting, cajoling, reminding and pushing her team to attain a level of perfection that is sought but never achieved.