Varun Ram

Varun Ram Ramasamy (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. Ram previously competed for Trinity College.

Collegiate career

Senior 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. However, Ram, who was primarily guarding him, smacked the ball away and began to run around the court very hyped up. 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." 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.

Personal Ram is the son of Kolandavel and Santhini Ramasamy. He is of Indian Tamil origin. His sister, Anita, attended Johns Hopkins University for both her undergraduate degree as well as medical school. Teammate Melo Trimble said, "Varun, he's probably the smartest guy on the team."