In a continued commitment to having a more diverse staff, the Memphis Grizzlies announced the hiring of former MIT women’s basketball coach Sonia Raman as an assistant coach on Friday. Raman replaces Niele Ivey, who left the Grizzlies during the NBA’s hiatus to become the women’s basketball coach at her alma mater, Notre Dame. Raman becomes the second woman assistant in Memphis franchise history and 14th overall in NBA history.
The Grizzlies announced that Sonia Raman has been hired as an assistant coach. She spent the last 12 years as the women’s head coach at MIT. pic.twitter.com/kioeKuJKt7
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) September 11, 2020
During her 12-year tenure as the head women’s basketball coach at MIT, she became the winningest coach in the program’s history with 152 wins. Under Raman’s leadership, the Engineers won the program’s first NEWMAC championships two consecutive years (2018, 2019) and reached the NCAA tournament twice.
Raman is a two-time NEWMAC coach of the year and was the first MIT women’s coach to lead her team to multiple 20-win seasons. In her final five seasons at MIT, the Engineers went 91–45. Away from the court, Raman was selected to serve a two-year term on the Coaches Council for the Alliance of Women Coaches in 2017.
“She has a high basketball IQ and a tremendous ability to teach the game as well as a strong passion for the game,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said in a statement. “She is going to be a great addition to our current coaching staff.”
Raman began her coaching career with a two-year stint as an assistant at her alma mater, Tufts. She then went on to spend six years as an assistant at Wellesley. Raman received a Juris Doctor from Boston College in 2001.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of the Memphis Grizzlies coaching staff. I can’t wait to get to Memphis and get started with Taylor, his staff, and the team’s emerging young core,” Raman said in the press release.