UCLA 2025

[Bone Dog]

Also, with Barker leaving that might leave more consistent minutes available for Gardiner. I realize there are other front court options available. Just seems like neither Barker or Gardiner thrived last year, maybe with only one of them there it will work out better.

At the time, I thought bringing in Barker as a transfer was Cori’s mistake. But it was probably just as much Janiah’s mistake too. It’s not just a question of fit, but also of clogging the roster with too much talent, and Timea may have been the one who suffered for it.

Now in the aftermath, I hope transferring to Tennessee is a good move for Janiah. I have a feeling it will improve Timea’s situation for this season. And if there’s still some rehab to work through I hope she can resolve that without too much difficulty.

 

[jake0414]

Janiah recruited herself to UCLA and not the other way around. Close was hesitant but Janiah persisted and the other team members persuaded Cori that the team needed someone with Janiah’s athleticism and grit to compete with physical teams such as LSU and South Carolina. I believe Janiah’s then partner had moved to Los Angeles so that made UCLA attractive as well.

But as you mention it created was a logjam at the forward and post positions. Janiah did best in the games Lauren sat out injured. Will be interesting to see how things work out with Coach Caldwell’s entire lineup substitution patterns.

 

[BRS24]

 

[BRS24]

 

[visitingcock]

With Sienna Betts out Texas can focus their bigs on Lauren. Kayla Oldacre will be used to wear her down. I think Oldacre is capable of out muscling Betts and intimidating her as she did in their high school McDonalds game.

Yes, Betts is much the better player but Oldacre can be a bully when her PT is limited to avoid fatigue and fouls. Jordan Lee MAY have progressed enough this year to take some pressure and defenders off of Booker.

Both teams scare me at this point because we still have not developed cohesiveness. Maybe later, but we still need to develop team identity.

 

[JellyBean]

Huge game for UCLA in a few days. Heck huge game for both teams but since this is about UCLA, I will keep the conversation about UCLA. If they can beat Texas. That is going to be a huge boost for the UCLA players and their confidence. This should be a good game. Good luck, UCLA and to the UCLA fans.

 

[DefenseBB]

UCLA is in this "Players Era Women's Championship" where if they win, they play the winner of Duke/SCar or if they lose to Texas, they play the loser of the aforementioned game. On Sunday, Nov 30, they play at home against Tennessee. That is a pretty impressive 3 game run in the 5 days. If UCLA goes undefeated, they will garner a lot of #1 votes and deservedly so.

 

[DefenseBB]

Well, UCLA was soundly beaten today, I respect their 2nd half effort after being down by as many as 23 to close it to 4 before losing by 11. They played only 6 and will play tomorrow with who it looks like will be Duke.

I like the Bruin chances but with Cori you never know. At least she is going against another coach who seems to have no clue on offense or “in game adjustments”.

 

[Centerstream]

Well, UCLA was soundly beaten today, I respect their 2nd half effort after being down by as many as 23 to close it to 4 before losing by 11. They played only 6 and will play tomorrow with who it looks like will be Duke.

I like the Bruin chances but with Cori you never know. At least she is going against another coach who seems to have no clue on offense or “in game adjustments”.

I don't follow UCLA at all but I did watch them lose to Texas today. One thing I noticed during the fourth quarter and the game was getting really tight, during one of timeouts late, Cori wasn't in the players huddle, an assistant was doing the coaching. I mean Cori was on the outside of the huddle and IMO didn't look the least bit involved. Seemed very strange to me.

 

[GoChips20]

UCLA’s problem is that the other three teams in this tournament all have at least 3-5 players as or more athletic than UCLA’s best athlete (Jaquez). They’re decidedly the least athletic team of the top 5 national contenders.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

UCLA’s problem is that the other three teams in this tournament all have at least 3-5 players as or more athletic than UCLA’s best athlete (Jaquez). They’re decidedly the least athletic team of the top 5 national contenders.

I remember thinking that Janiah Barker hurt South Carolina last year. Wasn't a big game from her points wise but felt she made a major impact.

I thought Kneepkens was really the one today that was trying to be impactful. I guess you have to say Rice as well to be fair. They really struggled to get the ball to Betts. Wasn't always clear how hard they were trying.

 

[DefenseBB]

Hey @GoChips20 or @BruinGold, first and foremost Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, second, is there a forum for UCLA sports that discusses WCBB as I am curious what that group of supporters has to say about the game yesterday against Texas?

 

[GoChips20]

Hey @GoChips20 or @BruinGold, first and foremost Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, second, is there a forum for UCLA sports that discusses WCBB as I am curious what that group of supporters has to say about the game yesterday against Texas?

Not that I’m aware of, but the WBB Reddit forum (r/NCAAW) typically has threads for big games that get more traffic than this board and I see several regular UCLA fans on there. BY and Reddit are far and away the best forums I know of though.

 

[BruinGold]

Not that I’m aware of, but the WBB Reddit forum (r/NCAAW) typically has threads for big games that get more traffic than this board and I see several regular UCLA fans on there. BY and Reddit are far and away the best forums I know of though.

I would agree with this assessment. Frankly, even mens' basketball doesn't get a ton of engagement. There are only around 4-6 regular commentators on the Women's team.

 

[JellyBean]

I would agree with this assessment. Frankly, even mens' basketball doesn't get a ton of engagement. There are only around 4-6 regular commentators on the Women's team.

Oh wow. Hopefully the numbers improve over time.

 

[DefenseBB]

UCLA looking so much better against Duke, better ball movement, faster pace and better defense all without POY candidate Betts. Interesting this smaller lineup is dominating the “more athletic”Duke team albeit early in the 2nd Q 32-15

 

[Reignman79]

UCLA looking so much better against Duke, better ball movement, faster pace and better defense all without POY candidate Betts. Interesting this smaller lineup is dominating the “more athletic”Duke team albeit early in the 2nd Q 32-15

Good observation! They might be a better team without Betts. Playing small ball, their players are playing freer. They are more of a threat playing small ball IMHO!

 

[BruinGold]

Good observation! They might be a better team without Betts. Playing small ball, their players are playing freer. They are more of a threat playing small ball IMHO!

It will be interesting to see what UCLA looks like when Sienna Betts and Timea Gardiner return. Replace Lauren with Sienna and you may have a very similar look to the Thursday game, but with more depth.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

LEGER-WALKER is on a mission. IMO …she’s the glue player for UCLA. She’s playing like an All American…that’s from New Zealand. 🤣

 

[JellyBean]

LEGER-WALKER is on a mission. IMO …she’s the glue player for UCLA. She’s playing like an All American…that’s from New Zealand. 🤣

I do love her energy. She is fun to watch out there playing.

 

[JellyBean]

UCLA looking so much better against Duke, better ball movement, faster pace and better defense all without POY candidate Betts. Interesting this smaller lineup is dominating the “more athletic”Duke team albeit early in the 2nd Q 32-15

I mean it was Duke after all. Not sure what is going on with them.

 

[DefenseBB]

I mean it was Duke after all. Not sure what is going on with them.

I hear ya, though I am tempted to report you to @triaddukefan for that snarky comment. UCLA did put a beat down on the Lady Vols on Sunday, which poses an interesting question, who was/is more over rated Duke or Tenn?

 

[BRS24]

UCLA coach Cori Close on NIL and the new reality of college basketball: 'We need to be really careful'

UCLA head coach Cori Close is amazed by the growth of the women's game over her 15-year coaching career with the Bruins. But she remains cautious of where it's going in the new NCAA landscape, which many have categorized as an unregulated Wild West.

sports.yahoo.com

“We just have no boundaries at all,” Close said. “There’s no salary cap. There’s no competitive equity. And what’s happening is, the people that are losing I’m worried will slow down the growth of the game because it’s shutting out high school athletes. It’s really taking away their percentages of opportunities. And I don’t like it.”​

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“I have a responsibility to keep our program at a championship level and I don’t think I can do it with just freshmen anymore,” Close said.​

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Three of UCLA’s top six contributors are transfers as the program chases its first NCAA championship and a repeat Final Four. Its 2025 Final Four berth in Tampa was the first in the NCAA era for UCLA.​

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All six of them are seniors, creating a massive hole Close needs to fill. She said she can’t and won’t replace them with six freshmen, as she would have in the past with larger recruiting classes. Instead, Close and the coaching staff will enter the offseason seeking four to five transfers, with a smaller three-to-four-player freshman class.​

​

“We have no interest in rebuilding,” Close said. “We really are intent on reloading. My responsibility is to adjust in the landscape that I’m given and to lead well no matter what. But the reality is, I have to do that whether I like it or not.”​

 

[Bigboote]

I agree with much of what Coach Close said, but find some of it a little, I dunno, defeatist. How is paying players "shutting out high-school athletes? (I assume by high-school athletes she means recruits/freshmen?) It's not reducing the number of scholarships available, plus it's allowing them to be paid. It may be limiting where some high-schoolers want to go, but that's not limiting their opportunities.

Close also seems to be blaming the system for her own choices. With the plethora of transfers, there is more recruiting to be done during the season, but there are also two more coaches than a few years ago. But she's also needing to bring more players in, which will necessarily include transfers, because she has six seniors playing key roles this season. That's not the NCAAs fault, she constructed her team herself.

UCLA has loads of money, a $10B endowment, and many many wealthy grads. It's a great school in a desirable location. If they don't overload on upper-class transfers, they ought to be able to sign a lot of desirable freshmen recruits, although I see zero in the ESPN top 100 for 2026.

 

[Bone Dog]

I agree with much of what Coach Close said, but find some of it a little, I dunno, defeatist. How is paying players "shutting out high-school athletes? (I assume by high-school athletes she means recruits/freshmen?) It's not reducing the number of scholarships available, plus it's allowing them to be paid. It may be limiting where some high-schoolers want to go, but that's not limiting their opportunities.

Close also seems to be blaming the system for her own choices. With the plethora of transfers, there is more recruiting to be done during the season, but there are also two more coaches than a few years ago. But she's also needing to bring more players in, which will necessarily include transfers, because she has six seniors playing key roles this season. That's not the NCAAs fault, she constructed her team herself.

UCLA has loads of money, a $10B endowment, and many many wealthy grads. It's a great school in a desirable location. If they don't overload on upper-class transfers, they ought to be able to sign a lot of desirable freshmen recruits, although I see zero in the ESPN top 100 for 2026.

I think Cori just announced why her team will continue to fall short. She will have zero chemistry that can't be achieved in a single season. Did she learn nothing from the beat down UCLA suffered at UConn's hands last season? She admitted that her team could not play at UConn's pace in the Final Four. This is her last shot to raise the pace of play of her team before all the starters go away. I seriously doubt she will succeed this season any better than she did last season.

Next season, Cori will bring in a half dozen (or more) transfers. I wonder how many of the existing recruits will bolt as a result. Currently, her roster for next season will consist of Sienna, Lena Bilic, Amanda Muse, Christina Karamouzi and maybe Timea (if she can get a waiver).

I also wonder how this year's starters think about this. Kiki and Gabriela are the only original recruits. Lauren and Angela transferred in 3 years ago. For Charlisse and Gianna, this is their first and last season in Bruin Blue. What sort of legacy will they cherish if the team dissolves immediately after they leave?