Top-ranked UCLA women head to Indiana where the reminders of Hall of Fame coach John Wooden abound

[ad_1]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Top-ranked UCLA is headed to Indiana this weekend for a pair of games where the undefeated women’s team will find reminders of Hall of Fame coach John Wooden in his home state.

Wooden, of course, led the Bruin men’s teams to a record 10 NCAA championships, including seven in a row. He was a frequent presence at both the men’s and women’s games at Pauley Pavilion before his death at age 99 in 2010.

Cori Close first met Wooden when she was an assistant on the UCLA women’s team before becoming head coach in 2011. Steve Lavin, then a men’s assistant in Westwood, encouraged her to visit Wooden and the two became close after Wooden noted that her first name was the same as one of his granddaughters.

“My legacy is impacting people’s hearts the way that Coach Wooden impacted mine,” Close said.

Wooden’s granddaughter, Cathleen Trapani, recently attended a game at Pauley Pavilion, where a gold seat signifies Wooden’s long-time presence behind the UCLA bench.

Now Close is taking the Bruins (14-0, 3-0 Big Ten) on their first true Big Ten road trip of the season. They won their league debut last month at Washington, which joined UCLA in leaving the Pac-12 to make the Big Ten an 18-team league.

Fittingly, this two-game trip is where Wooden first made his mark as a high school player in a state where basketball — from grade school to the pros — is king.

“As we go back to, especially Purdue, I really want to engage our players with the history there and what we’re experiencing and how we go about our business stems from what Coach Wooden taught me,” Close said.

The Bruins visit Indiana (10-3, 2-0) on Saturday in a nationally televised game from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The 17,222-seat arena is known for its noise due to its unique design of steep sides.

It’s located 28 miles south of Martinsville, where Wooden led his high school team to a state tournament title in 1927 and was a three-time All-State player. The 5,200-seat gym was later named in his…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/top-ranked-ucla-women-head-154948905.html

Author : Associated Press

Publish date : 2025-01-03 15:49:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.