Sanjana Ramesh talks journey, opportunity, Kobe & The Last Dance

Sanjana Ramesh’s plans for the month of May was definitely not to be in Bengaluru. She was to focus on her spring semester final exams and workouts to prepare for the next season with Northern Arizona University (NAU). The pandemic situation has put a spanner in the plans of the entire world, and Sanjana is no exception to it.

But that doesn’t stop the Bengaluru-born from keeping in touch with what she loves the most; basketball. On Wednesday night, Sanjana joined WNBA legend Ruth Riley live on Instagram for #NBATogether. In a free-wheeling chat, she spoke about her university life, Kobe Bryant and The Last Dance among other things.

In lockdown for over 45 days, Sanjana has been keeping fit by following her team’s workout module and some meditation over the weekends. Looking back at her journey till date, she said it has been a surreal experience since her move to NAU. “I was struggling to apply to colleges in the US but NBA Academies Women’s Program helped me do that and it’s been a great journey since then,” said Sanjana.

It wasn’t all a smooth ride for the 18-year old to move from high school in India to a college in a new country altogether with an injury to deal with in freshman year. “Coach Payne believed in me and trusted me to be a part of their process,” admitted Sanjana. “I wanted to recover soon, get back on court, learn and absorb everything I could and dominate second year.”

But Sanjana wants to ensure the journey that she is on does inspire younger generations to look at basketball as a career. “One of the biggest things is to get an opportunity, when we get one, we become a voice and can inspire. People can work hard if they see there is one,” Sanjana said. “The NBA Academies Women’s Program is showing that there is a pathway and an opportunity.”

With no on-court action, like every other basketball lover Sanjana did catch up on The Last Dance. “My generation grew up listening to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ legendary stories. To watch and understand the winning mentality has been very interesting,” said Sanjana.

It was no surprise that Sanjana’s choice of wearing no. 24 was because of Kobe Bryant. “I have watched him over and over again to understand his Mamba mentality. To overcome my struggles, the best thing to incorporate would be his mentality,” Sanjana said. “He supported women’s basketball, WNBA and inspired a lot of people. It is amazing how much influence he had and still has on people.”