Honorable Terps: Howard, Ram Excell for Maryland
5/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Terrapin Athletics
By: Ben Strack – Maryland Media Relations Student Writer
Discovering he had just earned the first Big Ten Medal of Honor in University of Maryland history, senior basketball player Varun Ram had no time to celebrate. A Principles of Neuroscience exam loomed the next morning and the neurobiology and physiology major would be embarking on a 12-hour stint in the library.
“I knew I wasn't going to be doing well academically if I did bad on the test so that was my primary concern,'” said Ram with a smile. “I'll need to find out more about this medal after.”
A few weeks prior, the school's other future recipient Malina Howard flew across the country to Spokane, Wash., for the women's basketball program's fifth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. The kinesiology major made a promise that she'd finish 15 pages of her thesis or else there would be no time for fun when they touched down, displaying the work ethic she holds dear.
“I came here to get a good education and I do not settle for anything less than my absolute best,” said Howard. “I'm not going to sacrifice getting a 'C' when I know I can get an 'A' if I study harder.”
Such commitment earned the duo the prestigious honor first awarded in 1915 to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had “attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work.” Originally only given to male athletes, a female athlete from each Big Ten school has been a recipient since 1982. Howard, fresh off a Final Four appearance, joined Ram, rounding out the Maryland pair of just 28 honorees in the new conference.
Ranked nationally as the No. 7 prospect in the 2012 recruiting class according to ESPN, Howard's highly-touted postgame ran anything but parallel to the scrappy guard play of Ram, yet the two friends reached the same destination, categorized by unrelenting motivation on and off the court.
Howard from high school and Ram as a transfer from Trinity College, a small NCAA Division III school in Connecticut, came to College Park around the same time - one a freshman with high hopes, the other an aspiring walk-on looking for more options academically.
Though happy with his decision to attend his home school, playing basketball at a nationally-acclaimed program seemed a little far-fetched for the 5-foot-9 Clarksville native.
“I had a few folks tell me my college basketball career was over and that I just needed to accept that,” said Ram. “I kind of understood what they were saying but I believed I was going to do anything in my power to try to still play basketball. I have played basketball my whole life. It's always been basketball, school, basketball, school. I don't think I can just attend school…I need basketball.”
Unsure if he would even get a tryout, Ram trained with a chip on his shoulder that summer, impressing the coaches upon his arrival and earning a spot on the team. He would have to sit out a year due to transfer regulations, but Ram didn't care in the slightest.
That same motivation carried through his next three years as a Terp, earning him quality minutes in some big matchups. Seven times he played double-digit minutes in the 2013-14 season, including 17 minutes at No. 5 Ohio State, where family and friends saw the point guard get acquainted with the ESPN limelight.
It took only 13 seconds for Ram to make a difference in the program's first NCAA tournament win in five years, as he knocked the ball loose from Valparaiso's Keith Carter who was eyeing a game-tying corner trey. A couple months removed, Ram swears with a smile that he got all ball.
But even before the play students and alumni will remember for years to come, Ram always seemed to be a fan favorite, garnering applause every time he ran to the scorer's table, no matter how many points up or down Maryland was.
“We have these athletes who are big, strong, athletic and to see someone that kind of looks like them go out there and play a little bit, I think it excites them,” said Ram. “You always want to root for the underdog and also being of Indian descent, I think you don't see a lot of Indian basketball players so I think that also ties into it.
“I've been so lucky to have fan support so it's been very nice to have that behind me and it just motivates me to not let them down if I ever play or just represent the program well.”
Growing up idolizing guys like Juan Dixon, who he would share a huddle with by his junior season, Ram has lived his dream during his time as a Terp.
“It's been greater than anything I could've imagined,” said Ram. “I was driving the other day and I just thought 'Wow, I am playing for the University of Maryland.'”
But during his redshirt season, teammates who recognized Ram's academic dedication brought him back to Earth, telling him to say goodbye to his grade point average.
Ram, who had just overcome the stereotype that a small kid of Indian descent couldn't play Division I basketball, was ready to prove that athletes can be smart too. With one week left as an undergraduate, Ram's only two 'A-'s' – in Organic Chemistry 2 lab and Mammalian Physiology – kept him from a perfect 4.0 GPA. The latter was the hardest class he has ever taken.
“It's just so much information being thrown at you every lecture,” said Ram. “That's one of the classes you can't cram for because if you cram for it your head will explode.”
Without writing everything in his planner, from his four-hour physiology lab on Mondays, to weight room, practice and recovery time each day of the week, Ram says he would not be able to function effectively. Scheduling time to study a bit every day and secure lecture notes when the team traveled has been key to his 3.99 grade point average. He plans to continue his education with graduate school when he returns not only to the classroom, but to XFINITY Center as well.
Howard, a junior, will be returning too, with one last crack at a national championship she came to Maryland hoping for. An integral member of a team that advanced to a pair of consecutive Final Fours, this year's trip to Tampa Bay came after a 34-3 season in which the Terps went 18-0 against conference foes in the program's inaugural season in the Big Ten.
Howard started in all 37 games this season, which involved a school-record 28-game win streak. In the three years, Howard has averaged 5.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in just over 20 minutes per game, adding 56 blocks.
But the 6-foot-4 paint presence came to College Park to leave a dual legacy: One on the court, the other in study hall. Humbly boasting a 3.798 GPA, Howard is no stranger to academic awards, named to the All-ACC Academic Squad her freshman and sophomore year as well as the All-Big Ten Academic Team in her first year in the conference.
She also received the Elite 89 award this April, which the NCAA presents to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships.
Adding the Big Ten Medal of Honor to Howard's list of accolades, she joins the exclusive club of just over 1,300 student-athletes who have earned this distinction in its 100 years of existence.
“I didn't really know about it until I was talking to my academic advisor and she told me they had nominated me for it,” said the Twinsburg, Ohio native. “When I got it and we were talking about it in her office, I fully understood what it was and how much of an honor it is to be the person to win the award.”
For Howard, basketball and academics go hand in hand, more so in college as she has pursued kinesiology. The body has always fascinated her and the rigorous training that basketball entails certainly helps her see and apply what she is learning about in her anatomy class, for example, to the court.
“I'll be running a sprint in practice and it will hit me how I just learned about when you run, this happens to your body and the oxygen is exchanging here, so my mind is always working about what's going on in the body,” she said.
It also helps having a fellow center in her field, as Howard says her and sophomore Brionna Jones study together on road trips and keep each other upbeat during the stressful days of balancing coursework with the game they love.
With Big Ten Medal of Honor nods going to basketball student-athletes, Howard said she has recognized how the two programs value well-rounded players.
“Both staffs are recruiting people that are not just here to play basketball,” she said. “It's about getting an education and making a difference and Coach [Frese] always harps on recruiting not just great athletes but great people who fit our program and are just great individuals.”
Though Ram and Howard's classes never overlapped, their shared pre-med tracks gave them something in common, let alone their commitment to the basketball program.
Howard plans to continue that path to medical school, and is currently leaning toward a career in cardiology, perhaps mixed with some basketball overseas at some point.
“I know it's a lot of school and I'll probably change my mind a million times but I know I want to be in the medical field and help people and make a difference in the world.”
Ram, with many family and friends in medicine, is not sure his heart is in it, and though he hasn't ruled out medical school, he wants to try out consulting in the field of health care or science.
In the meantime, he is preparing for his second summer trip to the Crossover Basketball & Scholars Academy in India where he hopes to inspire children to use basketball as a vehicle for change, keeping them in school.
“For the kids, I feel like to see me, someone who looks like them, I think it means a lot to them and it also means a lot to me that I can make an impact on people's lives,” said Ram.
But more than teaching children in his homeland, Ram, along with Howard, have taught the university and countless others that unparalleled dedication to a sport and a special focus on learning do not have to be mutually exclusive.
