Varun Ram sat in the corner of the Terrapins men’s basketball team’s locker room late Friday night, messing around on his phone as reporters flocked to his more popular teammates.

He occasionally exchanged laughs with fellow reserve guard Trevor Anzmann, but Ram mostly kept to himself. There was barely a drop of sweat on his body — Ram played one minute in the Terps’ 97-86 win over Nebraska in the Big Ten quarterfinals — but he was happy all the same.

For the majority of the contest, the 5-foot-9 point guard sat on the bench donning his warmups, cheering on his teammates. Often, Ram and the Terps bench was celebrating a 3-pointer from forward Jake Layman or an assist from guard Melo Trimble.

In the wake of the Terps’ win, fans have much to be thankful for. But they should direct much of their gratitude to Ram.

Following the conclusion of last season, Trimble and Layman considered leaving the program for the NBA. And who could blame them? It’s what they’ve been working toward their entire lives.

The pros offer many spoils: millions of dollars, fame and a chance to play against the best basketball players in the world.

Ram made a compelling counterargument to Trimble.

“When I’d have the chance, I’d say, ‘Melo, I’ll see you next year, right?” said Ram, a graduate student. “Or just things like that. Like ‘Melo, I’ll see you next year.’ Or ‘one more year for me,’ because I was like, ‘I came back, so you’ve got to come back.'”

The duo returned to team up with forward Robert Carter Jr., center Diamond Stone and guard Rasheed Sulaimon to complete arguably the most talented starting lineup in the country, one that propelled the team to a tournament semifinals rematch against Michigan State on Saturday.

And if Trimble and Layman hadn’t returned?

“We’d be a completely different team right now,” Ram said.

Layman, who dazzled Friday night with 26 points, knocked down his first five shots, including four 3-pointers. After he drained his fifth long-range shot to put the Terps up 43-28, Trimble turned toward the bench and screamed.

Then, the following possession, Trimble sank a 3-pointer of his own. Less than 16 minutes into the game, the Terps had jumped out to a 15-point lead.

The Cornhuskers put together a furious comeback, eventually cutting a 25-point deficit down to six. Forward Damonte Dodd added to the lead with a free throw before missing his next one. But Layman was there to grab the offensive rebound, halting Nebraska’s momentum.

“It was huge play,” forward Michal Cekovsky said. “I’m glad he stayed.”

Layman and Trimble have earned their fair share of criticism this year. Failure to live up higher expectations could have resulted in frustration for Trimble, Ram said.

It seems as though the sophomore has turned a corner as of late, though. Friday, he interspersed his 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds with an innumerable quantity of smiles.

He won’t have to wait long to get back on the court. The No. 3-seed Terps play the No. 2-seed Spartans at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, nearly a year after Michigan State knocked them out of the tournament.

“I was thinking, you don’t get a lot of second chances in life to do things,” Ram said. “I remember just thinking [last season] being up like 15 and like ‘Oh, we got this.’ And they came back and beat us. It was just a such a somber, sad game.”

“We have another chance to do it tomorrow.”

If they had gone to the NBA, chances are Layman and Trimble would’ve ended up back at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the home of the Indiana Pacers.

It wouldn’t have been the same, though. They wouldn’t have gotten their second chance.