Cori Close Position: Associate Head Coach Experience: Fifth Year Alma Mater: UC-Santa Barbara '93

During her first seven years as Florida State's head women's basketball coach, Sue Semrau assembled all the pieces necessary to turn the Seminoles into a perennial NCAA Tournament team. However, there was one piece that was missing. Five years ago, Semrau found the corner piece that anchors the whole puzzle together when she hired Cori Close as her associate head coach in May of 2004.

The easiest correlation between Close's arrival and Florida State's success has come in the form of an unprecedented run of five-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament and six postseason victories during that stretch. In the 21 years prior to her arrival, Florida State had only been to the Big Dance four times and won a pair of games.

One of the best offensive minds in the country, Close hasn't turned Florida State into an offensive juggernaut that strives to put triple figures on the scoreboard but rather she has fine tuned the Seminoles into a more productive team on the offensive end of the floor. One area that has seen a dramatic improvement is the point guard position as FSU's floor leaders have dished out 1,785 assists in the last five years.

In her first year as FSU's full-time starter at the point, Courtney Ward finished the 2008-09 season with the second-most assists in a season in FSU history with 170.

A more efficient offense has allowed for more open shots and a higher shooting percentage. Florida State has shot at least .418 from the field the last five seasons. Behind the three-point line the Seminoles have done something they have never accomplished as for the first time in school history they have shot .308 or better four years in a row.

Last season, FSU was deadly from behind the arc as the team drained a school-record 190 triples while making 38 percent of the shots from that distance.

As offensive coordinator, Close is responsible for developing the offensive schemes that best suit FSU's personnel. Her ability to prepare information and disseminate it to the players has been a perfect recipe for success. It's no coincidence that Roneeka Hodges was the second leading scorer in the ACC in 2004-05 with a rate of 19.2 points per game that was the highest scoring average at Florida State in over a decade.

In addition to her coaching responsibilities, Close is instrumental in recruiting and coordinates the efforts of the Seminole Girls Basketball Camps. She also works closely with the Seminole Sports Marketing department in their efforts to promote the program.

Close -- a lifelong resident of California -- moved cross-country to Florida to join the FSU program after she had spent nine seasons at UC-Santa Barbara , including three years as associate head coach. A demanding, detail-oriented and offensive-minded coach, she has proved to be the perfect compliment to Semrau and her staff.

While at UCSB, Close had the opportunity to expand her knowledge with a wide variety of responsibilities throughout her tenure. Some of her duties included overseeing the skill development of the players, on-court offensive coaching, recruiting and scheduling for the program. Under Close's coordination, UCSB's non-conference slate turned into one of the nation's most challenging each year.

As UCSB's player development coordinator, Close significantly contributed to the mentoring, nurturing and motivating of the student-athletes which led to such achievements as a 98 percent graduation rate, seven WNBA players, 15 professional players overseas, 12 Big West Conference MVPs, nine district All-Americans and one national second team All-American. Close was also responsible for all offensive tactics, offensive instruction and game-time decisions leading to eight NCAA appearances, including three second round appearances and a trip to the Sweet 16, one NIT championship and 10 Big West regular season or tournament championships. Close also helped UCSB achieve three Top 10 recruiting classes.

Close was also instrumental in fostering support and increasing revenue for the UCSB basketball program. She developed and implemented a comprehensive marking plan, designed fundraising initiatives, coordinated speaking, community service and radio/television appearances and created the Fastbreakers booster program. Her efforts resulted in a substantial attendance increase, which made UCSB women's basketball the largest revenue-producing program in the department of athletics.

As a player, Close was a four-year starting point guard and captained Santa Barbara's two NCAA Tournament teams in 1992 and 1993, leading both to the second round. The Milpitas, Calif. native was an All-Big West first team selection and the MVP of the conference tournament in 1993. The first player in UC-Santa Barbara history to record more than 1,000 points and 500 assists in a career, Close ranked among the top 10 in seven Gaucho career statistical categories.

Close graduated from UCSB in 1993 after majoring in sociology and was the recipient of UCSB's Distinguished Senior Award. She was a member of the UCLA Bruins' coaching staff for two seasons (1993-95) while earning a Master's Degree in educational administration from UCLA. On April 30, 2005, Close was inducted into the UCSB Athletics Hall of Fame.