Star Freshman to Officially Miss UCLA Season Opener

"Sienna is going to be a no-go for our opener," Close said. "She's coming along great, she's doing a great job, but we're going to rule her out for Monday. We're excited to get her back and get her in the mix."

Sienna Betts' Timeline

Following a practice last week, Close initially revealed Betts suffered an injury and explained if there was a timeline.

"No, we don't know yet," Close said. "We're waiting on results from the tweak she had in the scrimmage, so we'll know more later."

Despite the time missed ahead of Betts' debut season in Westwood, Close sees this as an opportunity for the budding freshman the learn, which Close praised her for.

"She's one of the most amazing learners I have coached in my 33 years," Close said of Betts. "Her knowledge of the game, her ability to see things then put it into practice. I think actually, there's going to be a silver lining of this little 'return-to-play' time for her, that she's going to be able to really focus on some work in her shooting pocket. It's really ahrd to fix in the middle of the season.

"She's going to work, get a lot of work with her right hand. And I just think sometimes adversity like this can sometimes force you into skill development in a way that maybe you wouldn't have attacked the same way if you didn't have this time, and a lot of that credit goes to Sienna. She's really smart, her basketball IQ is off the charts, and so I'm excited to see what comes out of this time."

The Bruins open the season on Monday against San Diego State in the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, at 7:00 p.m. PT on B1G+.