Sonia Raman
Memphis Grizzlies
PositionAssistant coach
LeagueNBA
Personal information
BornFramingham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Career information
High schoolFramingham
(Framingham, Massachusetts)
CollegeTufts (1992–1996)
PositionGuard
Career history
As coach:
2002–2008Wellesley (assistant)
2008–2020MIT
2020–presentMemphis Grizzlies (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As head coach:
  • 2× NEWMAC Coach of the Year (2016, 2017)

Sonia Raman is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). She served as the head coach of the MIT Engineers women's basketball team from 2008 to 2020, and had the most wins in the team's history.[1] She became an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2020.[2]

College and legal career

Raman attended Framingham High School in Framingham, Massachusetts.[3] She started her college career at Tufts University in 1992 and joined the basketball team as a walk-on.[4] Raman played off the bench as a guard until she was sidelined with a broken leg after she was hit by a car in her junior year.[2][4] Raman began to develop her coaching abilities during her playing absence while encouraging her teammates and studying basketball.[4] She served as team co-captain during her senior season. Raman graduated from Tufts University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and went on to receive a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School in 2001.[5]

After graduating from law school she worked for Fidelity Investments and the United States Department of Labor.[6][7]

Coaching career

Raman began her intercollegiate coaching career with a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Tufts.[8]

On July 9, 2008, Raman was named head coach of the MIT Engineers women's basketball team after serving as an assistant coach at Wellesley College for the previous six years.[9] Raman was named New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Women's Basketball Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2017.[8][10]

On September 11, 2020, the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced Raman was hired as an assistant coach.[8] She became the first Indian-American woman and the 14th woman to be named as an NBA coach.[8] Raman had developed a relationship with Rich Cho, the Grizzlies' vice president of basketball strategy, who she first encountered when Cho was looking for student intern recommendations.[2] Grizzlies head coach, Taylor Jenkins, was "blown away" by Raman and had no qualms in hiring her despite her relative unknown status.[2] Raman works in scouting, player development and analytics for the Grizzlies.[2]

Personal life

Raman was born in Framingham, Massachusetts,[11] to Indian immigrant parents.[2][12]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The NBA Is Inching Ever Closer to Its First Female Head Coach". InsideHook. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Cacciola, Scott (January 18, 2021). "She Thought the Grizzlies Wanted Hiring Advice. They Wanted Her". The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  3. ^ McNamara, Neal (September 22, 2020). "Former Framingham HS Player Hired As Memphis Grizzlies Coach". Patch. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Sweeney, Paul (March 16, 2021). "She Calls the Shots". TuftsNow. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  5. ^ Freudberg, Jake (November 23, 2020). "An unlikely path to the NBA for former Jumbo Sonia Raman". The Tufts Daily. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  6. ^ Eisenberg, Jeff (December 3, 2020). "From corporate lawyer to MIT to the NBA". Yahoo!. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  7. ^ Freudberg, Jake (November 23, 2020). "An unlikely path to the NBA for former Jumbo Sonia Raman". The Tufts Daily. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d "Memphis Grizzlies add Sonia Raman as assistant coach". Memphis Grizzlies. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  9. ^ "Sonia Raman Named Head Coach of Women's Basketball". CBS College Sports. July 9, 2008. Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  10. ^ "NEWMAC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year". New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  11. ^ "Sonia Raman". National Basketball Coaches Association. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  12. ^ ""I've been embraced as an Indian woman," Sonia Raman, first Indian Origin Female Coach in the NBA". NBA.com. October 16, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
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