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"Hard" to shift culture quickly? Rather it's virtually impossible -- especially with the same person in charge. Bringing in a new person, such as the charismatic Harbaugh, opens the possibility of significant cultural change in a reasonable time frame. Can anyone think of an instance in which no key personnel changes were made and yet major cultural change was effected in short order? I can't. Effecting significant cultural change is not a "flipping the light switch" process. Significant cultural change is the result of gestational factors as much as it is to impositional efforts.

Didn't Close at UCLA make a major culture shift in the last couple of years?

The answer is YES!  Earlier (on this Board), I provided some background on what Cori did, but I'll paraphrase it here.  3 to 4 years ago, Cori realized that something was missing in the UCLA WBB program.  Her teams were always competitive.  She had talented players at all positions and the Bruins were consistently in the NCAA Tournament.

That wasn't enough.  Cori wanted her teams to get to the elite level and compete for national championships.  (Ironically, in Kate Paye's first press conference as head coach, KP said the very same thing.)

But there's a difference between saying you're going to be elite- and actually getting there. KP has shown she doesn't know how to get there, but Cori did. Earlier in Cori's career, she consulted John Wooden several times, asking for advice.  Cori went back to those conversations and realized a few things her teams were missing.  She was going to recruit - not just super-talented players, but players who wanted the same vision- to be the best and to do that as a TEAM, not just a group of individuals.  Cori then instilled a philosophy of working and grinding together and keeping that vision in front of them- every day.

Cori basically took many of the principles from Wooden's 'Pyramid of Success' and applied them to her team. 

After getting Betts, Cori began looking for other players in the portal who would help form the nucleus of a new and powerful squad.  Some of those transfers (she recruited) didn't work out and left, but those players who stayed bought into her philosophy and system.

In 2024-25, they got close, beating LSU but getting blown out by UCONN.  There were many meetings with Cori and the players after that loss.  One thing that came out of those meetings was UCLA had the talent to compete against UCONN, but lacked the confidence to play them.  They also concluded they were just not tough enough to win it all.  Cori began using 'continuous improvement' methods at practice and at games.  She took the weakest part of the team's performance and made that a new goal.  What you saw in the 2025-26 season and especially the Tournament, the Bruins not only had the confidence, but they gained the mental toughness that was missing the season before.

[stopandpop]

"Hard" to shift culture quickly? Rather it's virtually impossible -- especially with the same person in charge. Bringing in a new person, such as the charismatic Harbaugh, opens the possibility of significant cultural change in a reasonable time frame. Can anyone think of an instance in which no key personnel changes were made and yet major cultural change was effected in short order? I can't. Effecting significant cultural change is not a "flipping the light switch" process. Significant cultural change is the result of gestational factors as much as it is to impositional efforts.

Didn't Close at UCLA make a major culture shift in the last couple of years?

The answer is YES!  Earlier (on this Board), I provided some background on what Cori did, but I'll paraphrase it here.  3 to 4 years ago, Cori realized that something was missing in the UCLA WBB program.  Her teams were always competitive.  She had talented players at all positions and the Bruins were consistently in the NCAA Tournament.

That wasn't enough.  Cori wanted her teams to get to the elite level and compete for national championships.  (Ironically, in Kate Paye's first press conference as head coach, KP said the very same thing.)

But there's a difference between saying you're going to be elite- and actually getting there. KP has shown she doesn't know how to get there, but Cori did. Earlier in Cori's career, she consulted John Wooden several times, asking for advice.  Cori went back to those conversations and realized a few things her teams were missing.  She was going to recruit - not just super-talented players, but players who wanted the same vision- to be the best and to do that as a TEAM, not just a group of individuals.  Cori then instilled a philosophy of working and grinding together and keeping that vision in front of them- every day.

Cori basically took many of the principles from Wooden's 'Pyramid of Success' and applied them to her team. 

After getting Betts, Cori began looking for other players in the portal who would help form the nucleus of a new and powerful squad.  Some of those transfers (she recruited) didn't work out and left, but those players who stayed bought into her philosophy and system.

In 2024-25, they got close, beating LSU but getting blown out by UCONN.  There were many meetings with Cori and the players after that loss.  One thing that came out of those meetings was UCLA had the talent to compete against UCONN, but lacked the confidence to play them.  They also concluded they were just not tough enough to win it all.  Cori began using 'continuous improvement' methods at practice and at games.  She took the weakest part of the team's performance and made that a new goal.  What you saw in the 2025-26 season and especially the Tournament, the Bruins not only had the confidence, but they gained the mental toughness that was missing the season before.