The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for sports and athletics .(March 2018) |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | December 16, 1992 |
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
Listed weight | 155 lb (70 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | River Hill (Clarksville, Maryland) |
College | |
NBA draft | 2016: undrafted |
Position | Guard |
Varun Ram Ramasamy [1] (born December 16, 1992) is an American basketball player who played for the Maryland Terrapins. He was one of the few players in the NCAA of Indian descent. [2] Ram previously competed for Trinity College. [3]
On March 20, 2015 in his first NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament appearance, Ram made a key play in the final seconds of a second-round game against Valparaiso. Crusaders guard Tevonn Walker made a free throw with one minute remaining in the second half, making the score 65–62 in Maryland's favor. Following a missed opportunity to close the game from Dez Wells, Valparaiso's Keith Carter attempted to take the final three-point shot and a potential game-tying field goal with a second left in regulation. [4] However, Ram, who was primarily guarding him, smacked the ball away and began to run around the court very hyped up. [5] [6] He said after the game, "I've been envisioning this my whole life. And being able to actually do it, for it to happen, is amazing. I feel like it's a dream come true. A game of this magnitude, it's unbelievable." [7] Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon remarked that Ram was one of his top five funniest players. He did not accumulate any statistics throughout the contest, though, because Evan Smotrycz was given credit for the steal.
Ram is the son of Kolandavel and Santhini Ramasamy. He is a Tamil and his parents were born and brought up in Tamil Nadu, a state in the Southern part of India. They migrated in the late 80s to find a job, have a better standard of living, and support their family back in the motherland. His sister, Anita, attended Johns Hopkins University for both her undergraduate degree as well as medical school. [3] Varun has been considered the Maryland basketball team's smartest player, with a 3.99 grade-point average in neurology and physiology. He is well known for his grit, determination, and perseverance in both athletics and academics. After he graduating UMD, he wanted to work in Medical consulting. He was also thinking of playing basketball for an overseas professional team or the Indian National team (unfortunately he was ineligible due to his citizenship status).
In addition, Ram is a volunteer coaching fellow with Crossover Basketball and Scholars Academy (www.crossover-india.org); an organization committed to impacting education rates in India (Chennai at this time) through the use of basketball as a vehicle of change and imparting the skills of leadership, character, teamwork, and communication.
Regarding his Tamil culture, he is also a participant and organizer in FeTNA, the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America and the Tamil Sangam of Greater Washington. These are Tamil cultural conventions for Tamil Americans to keep in touch with their Tamil culture since they cannot travel to Tamil Nadu, India all the time.
He has been a part of the India Rising (now Brown Ballers), TBT roster summer tournament since 2022.
Ram graduated from Stanford Graduate Business School in 2023.
[8] Teammate Melo Trimble said, "Varun, he's probably the smartest guy on the team." [5]
Juan Dixon is an American former professional basketball player and the previous head coach for Coppin State University in Baltimore. Dixon led the University of Maryland Terrapins to their first NCAA championship in 2002 and earned Most Outstanding Player honors at the 2002 Final Four.
Gary Bruce Williams is an American university administrator and former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Maryland, the Ohio State University, Boston College, and American University. In 2002, he led Maryland to win the NCAA tournament championship. Williams retired after the 2010–11 season.
The Tamil Nadu cricket team is a domestic cricket team run by Tamil Nadu Cricket Association representing the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It has been one of the most dominant teams in white-ball domestic Indian cricket. The team plays in Ranji Trophy, the highest tier of the domestic first-class cricket tournament in India and in List A tournaments Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. They have won the Ranji Trophy twice and have finished runners-up nine times. They are the team that has won the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy most often. They were the first team to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2006/07. The team was known as Madras until the 1970–71 season before the Madras state was renamed Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu is the only team to win the five different Indian domestic trophies.
The 2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 2002, and ended with the championship game on April 1 in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome. A total of 64 games were played.
Brenda Sue Frese is an American women's basketball head coach and former player. Since 2002, she has served as the head coach of the University of Maryland women's basketball team. In her fourth year as head coach, she won the 2006 Women's National Championship. She won the 2009 ACC Regular Season and Tournament Championships – the women's first ACC Championship since 1989. She won another ACC Championship in 2012 and reached another Final Four in 2014. Maryland moved to the Big Ten for the 2014–15 season and Frese led the Terrapins to an undefeated 18–0 conference record and a Big Ten Regular Season Championship in their first year in the Big Ten. The Terrapins advanced to their second straight Final Four and third under Frese in 2015. She was voted AP National Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2021, ACC Coach of the Year in 2013, Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2002, 2015, 2019, and 2021, and MAC Coach of the Year in 2000. At Maryland, she's coached four ACC Players of the Year and four ACC Freshmen of the Year.
The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition. Maryland was a founding member of the Southern Conference in 1921, a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1952, and a member of the Big Ten Conference since 2014.
The Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition. Maryland, a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), left the ACC in 2014 to join the Big Ten Conference. Gary Williams, who coached the Terrapins from 1989 to 2011, led the program to its greatest success, including two consecutive Final Fours in 2001 and 2002, which culminated in the 2002 NCAA National Championship. Maryland has appeared in 30 NCAA tournaments and won their conference tournament 4 times. The Terrapins have competed in 100 seasons, accumulating an overall record of 1,641–1,086 as of the 2022–23 season. Maryland is currently coached by Kevin Willard.
The George Washington Revolutionaries men's basketball team represents George Washington University in Washington, D.C. It plays its home games in the Charles E. Smith Center, an indoor arena that is also shared with other George Washington Revolutionaries athletic programs. The school's team currently competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The 2008–2009 Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team represented the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Terrapins qualified for the NCAA tournament for just the second time since the 2003–04 season. Maryland advanced to the second round before being eliminated by second-seeded Memphis. This exceeded expectations for the team, which had been described as a team that was small in stature without any highly touted athletes.
The 1999–2000 Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team represented the University of Maryland in the 1999–2000 college basketball season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The team was led by head coach Gary Williams and played their home games at the Cole Field House. They lost to UCLA in the 2000 NCAA tournament.
Many sports are played by the people of Tamil Nadu including both traditional sports and sports from other countries.
Alyssa Thomas is an American professional basketball forward for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Maryland Terrapins. The New York Liberty drafted Thomas 4th overall in the 2014 WNBA draft, and immediately traded her to the Sun along with Kelsey Bone and a 2015 first-round draft pick in exchange for Tina Charles. Thomas is the University of Maryland's all-time leader in scoring, rebounding and double-doubles for both the women's and men's programs, and one of only three athletes in NCAAW history with six career triple-doubles. In the WNBA, Thomas recorded thirteen career triple-doubles. She is one of four players to record 15+, 15+, 10+ with 0 turnovers, the only WNBA player to do so ever.
The 2014–15 Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team represented the University of Maryland, College Park in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by fourth year head coach Mark Turgeon and played their home games at the Xfinity Center. They were first-year members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 28–7, 14–4 in Big Ten play to finish in second place. They advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament where they lost to Michigan State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Valparaiso in the second round before losing in the third round to West Virginia.
The 2015–16 Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team represented the University of Maryland, College Park in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by fifth year head coach Mark Turgeon and played their home games at Xfinity Center. This was their second year as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season with a record of 27–9, 12–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a four-way tie for third place in conference. They defeated Nebraska in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Michigan State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated South Dakota State and Hawaii to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. In the Sweet Sixteen, they lost to Kansas.
The 2015–16 Maryland Terrapins women's basketball team represented the University of Maryland, College Park in 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Terrapins, are led by fourteenth year head coach Brenda Frese and played their home games at the Xfinity Center. They were second year members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 31–4, 16–2 in Big Ten play to win their second straight Big Ten regular season title. They were also champions of the Big Ten Women's tournament for second straight year and received an automatic to the NCAA women's basketball tournament where defeated Iona in the first round before getting upset by Washington in the second round.
The 2015–16 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by fifth year head coach Bryce Drew, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center and were members of the Horizon League. They finished the season 30–7, 16–2 in Horizon League play to win the regular season championship. They lost in the semifinals of the Horizon League tournament to Green Bay. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament. As one of the last four teams left out of the NCAA tournament, they received a #1 seed in the NIT where they defeated Texas Southern, Florida State, Saint Mary's, and BYU to advance to the championship game where they lost to George Washington.
The 2017–18 Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team represented the University of Maryland, College Park in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by seventh-year head coach Mark Turgeon and played their home games at Xfinity Center in College Park, Maryland, as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 19–13, 8–10 in Big Ten play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the second round of the Big Ten tournament to Wisconsin. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational, but declined, marking their absence in a postseason tournament for the first time since 2014.
Varun Chakravarthy Vinod is an Indian cricketer who plays for Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a leg spin bowler. He made his international debut for the India cricket team in July 2021.
Allan J. Bunge is a former National Basketball Association (NBA) first round draft pick of the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1960 NBA draft. Bunge led the Maryland Terrapins to the NCAA tournament in 1958. Bunge's career was interrupted, and his entire life impacted, by flareups of ulcerative colitis that was discovered during his freshman year at Maryland.
The 1987–88 Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team represented the University of Maryland, College Park as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference during the 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by second-year head coach Bob Wade and played their home games at Cole Field House.