March Madness has us betting on March Madness lines and wondering about the players we’re placing our bets on. In the NCAA there are some basketball players who come from India, come with us and we take a look at them.
The NCAA, formally known as the National Collegiate Athletic Association, was formed in March 1906. The association is meant to regulate college athletics and is currently doing so for over 1000 schools in Puerto Rico, the United States, and Canada and assists over 500 000 students within these regions. The NCAA is meant to help athletes save both physically and mentally through its Sports Science Institute.
India is quickly taking over the NCAA, and for this reason, we’ve chosen to look into Indian players who are and have taken over the NCAA game.
Varun Ram Ramasamy is a professional American basketball player who was born in 1992. In March 2015, Ram made his first-ever NCAA men’s division tournament. In fact, Ram played a key role in a game against Valparaiso in 2015.
In the final seconds of the second round, Ram managed to save the day by taking the ball from Keith Carter and running around the court. Unfortunately for Ram, Evan Smotrycz got all the credit for the save. Not a lot is known about Ram, but he is an amazing and funny NCAA player.
The NCAA is seeing a surge in the number of Indian players joining with amazing talents, such as Gokul Natesan joining the teams. Natesan was born on 20 May 1994 and has since flooded the NCAA. Although he remains an undrafted player, he is still amazing at what he does.
Natesan made quite an impression in 2021 in a Finland 1st Division game.
During this game, Natesan scored a whopping 37 points and also made 10 rebounds, eight steals, and nine assists which is fantastic. This match built Natesan’s career, and he is well known for his contribution to this game.
The NCAA is not just about basketball, but all college sports in general, which is why Mohini Bhardwaj is a perfect addition to this list. Always keep in mind that the past is the foundation of the future which is why we’ve also included her in this list.
Mohini Bhardwaj was born in 1978 and is currently a retired artistic gymnast. In 1997 and 2001, Bhardwaj competed in the World Championships, and in 2004 during the Summer Olympics in Athens, she earned a silver medal with the American team.
Bhardwaj is currently a member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame, and she is also one of the first Indian-American gymnasts and the second Indian-American woman in any sport to earn a silver medal in the Olympics, which warranted her the Hall of Fame.
Earlier on in Bhardwaj’s career, she was known as a wild child, which scared a lot of NCAA recruiters. Thankfully Bhardwaj was spotted and recruited by Valorie Kondos, who was the head coach of the UCLA Bruins gymnastics team, which later gave her a full scholarship.
Unfortunately for Bhardwaj, her party days were not behind her, and Kondos later issued Bhardwaj an ultimatum stating that she needed to change her ways or leave the team. By 1991 Bhardwaj was an extremely important part of the gymnastics team she was in.
In the time that Bhardwaj was with UCLA, she accomplished multiple things, such as earning the All-American honors 11 times. She also earned 23 individual titles and made history by becoming the first gymnast coming from UCLA to become a four-time All-American on the uneven bars.
When Bhardwaj was a senior, she won two awards which include the AAI Awards and the Honda Sports Awards. In 2013, Bhardwaj saw her name in the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame.
There are multiple amazing Indian players within the NCAA, with many making history within their various industries. Both Indian men and women are making major differences and showing multiple children that their dreams are valid and achievable, especially when they are able to put in the work they need.
