Saturday, Feb. 28 marks this year’s Senior Day for the Case Western Reserve University men’s basketball team. On this day, the team will be celebrating four graduating members. The list consists of the team’s fourth-year co-captains, guard Anand Dharmarajan and forward Aaron Rucker; fellow fourth-year forward Andrew Fox and graduate student guard Ethan Edwards.
These student-athletes have played their entire tenures under Head Coach Todd McGuinness and have exemplified what it means to play as a CWRU team. They have consistently supported each other through their highs and lows while pushing themselves to be better every day.
Anand Dharmarajan
Fourth-year guard and co-captain Anand Dharmarajan’s path to his final collegiate season has been shaped by years of dedication both on the court and in the classroom. As a pre-med student at CWRU, Dharmarajan has spent much of his time in college balancing the demanding schedule of varsity athletics with the rigor present in preparing for medical school.
Picking up basketball when he was seven years old, Dharmarajan’s long-standing connection to the game eventually led him to CWRU for the opportunity to both play basketball at a higher level and pursue an education at school known for its pre-med prowess. During his time on the men’s basketball team, he has amassed nearly 900 minutes on the court across 70 games, a significant portion of which have come from his last two years as his role on the team grew. He has been a key part of the rotation in his senior year, appearing in 24 games to date—including starts in all but one of them—and being named co-captain by his teammates prior to the season’s beginning.
With such a lengthy tenure, Dharmarajan has had much time to bond with his fellow Spartans. Reflecting on his time building relationships with teammates on the court and sharing experiences that go well beyond the court, he says the memories stand out as one of the most meaningful parts of his college experience.
“It’s been the best experience of my life. Hanging out off the court and competing on the court with your friends is the best way to spend college,” Dharamarjan reflected.
Managing his numerous responsibilities as a pre-med student-athlete has required focus and consistency. With practices, games and rigorous coursework filling much of his schedule, Dharmarajan learned early on how important it was to stay organized and committed to his goals.
“It takes a lot of discipline and time management skills but you get the hang of it after a while,” Dharmarajan said. “Sometimes you have to sacrifice some free time or fun in order to get everything done.”
Off the court, Dharmarajan has looked for ways to make an impact in his community. During his time at CWRU, he helped start and lead the CWRU chapter of the Hope Lodge Volunteer Partnership, an organization that connects students with opportunities to support cancer patients undergoing treatment. His decision to pursue medicine is rooted in family and the example set by those closest to him growing up.
“My dad is a doctor and my mom also works in healthcare and both are my heroes in life so I’ve always wanted to go into medicine and be like them,” he said.
As his time as a Spartan comes to an end, Dharmarajan is preparing for the next stage of his journey; he plans to take a gap year to work as a medical assistant while applying to medical school. As that stage approaches, he leaves behind not only his contributions on the court but also the relationships and experiences that helped shape his time at CWRU—memories built through four years of playing alongside teammates who became close friends along the way.
Aaron Rucker
Basketball has been present in much of fourth-year forward and co-captain Aaron Rucker’s life, having gotten his start at the age of nine. Over the course of his collegiate career, he has played in 60 games for the Spartans amounting to over 300 minutes of on-court time. Though this may not be as much as some of his peers, Rucker still exemplifies what it means to be a Spartan through his consistent work ethic and determination. He has earned Winter UAA All-Academic honors for three years in a row, and this past season his teammates named him co-captain of the squad.
Having spent his four years at CWRU balancing the responsibilities of varsity basketball with the academic demands of being an economics major, Rucker notes the importance of time management in getting all of his tasks done.
“I always make sure to manage my time through setting a daily schedule of study/practice time so I can balance my workload and not feel overwhelmed,” Rucker said.
Beyond his work on the court and in the classroom, Rucker has also been involved with organizations that allowed him to explore his academic interests and take on leadership roles within the university community. During his second and third year, he was a member of the Journal of Economics, assisting in the creation of an undergraduate economics publication. In this capacity, he contributed to the creation of research papers as part of the IDEAS team.
In addition, Rucker has served as treasurer for the Black Latinx Athlete Coalition for the past two years—a position he took out of interest in community involvement.
“I wanted to be involved in more conversations/decision making about how the club can positively impact our university and the Cleveland community,” Rucker stated.
Rucker’s interest in economics traces back to a formative high school experience: taking AP Macroeconomics in his junior year of high school, a class taught by a professor who cultivated a fun classroom environment that made Rucker excited to learn more about how economies serve as a foundation for how the world works. Six years later, as he approaches his college graduation, Rucker is well into mapping out the next chapter of his career: seeking analyst or market research roles that will allow him to apply the skills gained from his classes while working towards his goal of pursuing an MBA in order to work in economic consulting.
Through all of this, however, the most valuable part of Rucker’s college experience has been the relationships formed with his teammates.
“I have enjoyed learning more about myself and my friends on the team because I feel like we have had strong connections that will last years after graduation,” Rucker said. “The support I have received during good and bad times has helped me grow into the best version of myself.”
As Rucker’s collegiate career comes to an end, he hopes that the team can leave a lasting legacy for the next generation of Spartans long after he and his peers have graduated.
“I want this season to be a year where we compete against the best teams and build a strong foundation for the freshmen,” he said.
Ethan Edwards
For graduate student guard Ethan Edwards, basketball has been a mainstay for much of his life. Having picked up the sport at the age of five, he’s spent the rest of his life since then continuously fine tuning his craft—a process that culminated in his numerous accomplishments on the court this season. During a Jan. 7 game against La Roche University, Edwards set a program record with nine three-pointers to his name as he led the Spartans to a 97-78 win over the Redhawks. Edwards would then go on to score a UAA record of 54 points to lead CWRU to a 110-98 win over the University of Rochester on Feb. 22—also a record for the most points scored by an individual in any NCAA game (Division I, II or III) this season.
Although this season marks his first and only year with the Spartans, Edwards says that the bond he has built with his teammates over the past year has made a lasting impact.
“It’s been amazing,” Edwards said. “I have only been here a year, but I have built a family … We hang out together, travel to practices together, take classes and more. They have shown me the ropes, teaching me certain things and providing resources that have made my transition and experience better. I don’t think I would be here without them, as they have taken me in and treated me as a brother.”
Off the court, Edwards has spent much of his time focused on academics as he works towards his master’s degree in finance. Having picked the subject out of interest and wanting to learn more about it, he chose to attend CWRU because he knew it was a school that he would get a great education out of.
“CWRU was one of the few schools that would let me study finance without a strong background in finance/business, and being a top 50 school, I knew I would be getting a great education while also building solid connections,” he said.
As he juggles his numerous responsibilities, Edwards also notes that balancing graduate studies with the demands of varsity basketball requires discipline and careful planning.
“Time management and sacrifice has been key. Classes and practice already have set times, so it’s about planning time for homework/studying and other extracurricular activities,” Edwards said. “Furthermore, there is sacrifice, where I sometimes have to decline hanging out or doing certain things…to focus on my priorities. Frankly, it’s just about making sure I am doing what I’m supposed to, but still leaving time for myself [so that] I feel 100% on and off the court.”
The support Edwards receives from his teammates became especially meaningful when he suffered a face fracture early in the year. Reflecting on the incident, he notes that his teammates stayed late in the emergency room with him, making sure that he was okay.
“Being so far from my family, it felt good to know I have built another family here, with good hearted and helpful people,” Edwards said.
Looking ahead, Edwards has clear goals in mind upon the conclusion of his collegiate career, both in basketball and in his career aspirations. He intends to continue playing basketball for as long as he can while working on building a holding company that will contain several subsidiaries ranging from consumer products to real estate and more. But before then, and before he plays his final game as a Spartan, Edwards hopes to take meaningful lessons from his time with the program while also leaving an impact on the team and its younger players.
“[I hope to] enjoy [my final season] and give it my all, [and to] inspire and spread positivity through my efforts on and off the court. We have a lot of underclassmen, so leading and teaching as well, laying the groundwork to help build the program back up to the national powerhouse we are,” he said.
Andrew Fox
Fourth-year forward Andrew Fox has made his mark at CWRU. Coming to Cleveland after spending two years studying at and playing for the Rochester Institute of Technology, Fox has made the most out of the past two years. To date, he has totaled nearly 800 minutes across 45 games for the Spartans—including 20 games as a starter.
After beginning his collegiate career at RIT, Fox was inspired to transfer to CWRU because of the wide variety of opportunities it offered to him in addition to other things he liked about the university and its basketball program.
“I saw Case as a great place to continue to grow my engineering career, as it had a wide variety of opportunities for me to pursue. Additionally, I liked the campus a lot and thought the location was very attractive,” Fox said. “Finally, the basketball program was in a great place and I really liked the way that Coach McGuinness ran his team and pushed his players to succeed.”
Fox’s consistency on the court has been a noted highlight of the Spartan offense during his time on the team. But perhaps what stands out most is his ability to manage the dual challenge of pursuing a mechanical engineering degree and taking part in varsity basketball—a balance that demands precision and perseverance. In this regard, Fox calls attention to good time management and communication to ensure all of his responsibilities are fulfilled.
“Managing my time in advance and communicating with professors and coaches has been key,” he said.
Fox’s interest in engineering developed long before he arrived on a college campus. He notes that his choice in career path stems from the influence of a favorite teacher of his in high school.
“I had a great high school teacher who showed me what engineering was like and was a great influence on me,” Fox said. “The combination of math, physics, and problem solving also makes it very appealing to me.”
Over the past two years, Fox has built meaningful relationships with many of his peers at CWRU across a wide variety of fields. The relationships he’s built with his teammates during his time as a Spartan are ones that he is especially grateful for, as it is these teammates who have pushed Fox to be the best he can be every day both on and off the court.
“It hasn’t always been easy, but the people and the relationships that I have been lucky enough to build here are one reason why I am glad I came to Case,” Fox reflected.
After graduating with his degree in May, Fox will be heading to Knox, Indiana to take on a process engineer role at J.W. Hicks. Before he sets his sights on the Hoosier State, Fox hopes to savor every last moment on and off the court with his closest friends, reflecting on what has been an unforgettable journey for him.
I will miss the games and the road trips, but I will especially miss just being in a gym with a great group of guys who are all looking to get better at a game they all love,” Fox reflected. “I am very blessed by God to be able to play college basketball, and I am so thankful for my coaches and teammates who will be some of my best friends for the rest of my life.”