Rams men's basketball point guard Ankit Choudhary's favourite after-practice snack is a pack of colourful, candy-shelled, decadent chocolate M&M's. 

They're a staple in his change room locker, a tradition that dates back further than his prep academy days or his third grade local basketball club locker. It begins at a local basketball court in Markham-Thornhill, Ont. in 2005. 

The pack of candy is neatly tucked into Rani Choudhary's purse, as she watches her four-year-old son take shots at a basket four times his size. The ball doesn't make it halfway to the rim. Still, the teenagers at the park cheer him on, fist bumping his little fingers and patting him on the back. 

The older kids are here practically everyday, running four-on-fours almost every afternoon after school. So are Ankit and Rani. He loves the game, so she takes him to watch and practice on his own after kindergarten. Practically everyday. 

"Eventually, my parents just bought me a Little Tikes mini net and we put it in the basement," Choudhary says, reflecting back on how he first fell in love with the sport. He is now 20 years old, six foot one, and one of the Rams' top shooters.

"I was down there every single day, just practicing until I grew a little," he says, with glistening eyes, "until I could actually play on the real hoops with the older guys."

It wasn't long before Choudhary was back at the local court, taking pointers and asking questions to the high school students who always said hello every time his junior Jordans would step onto the concrete court. 

"That's where I learned the game. They taught me everything there was to know at that age," Choudhary says.

By eight years old, the athlete had swapped daily scrimmages in the park for more disciplined training in a basketball club gym. For many summers though, when the guys who taught him how to love the game would come home from college, he'd go back to the court where he started, improving with every year that went by.
 
Choudhary played for various club and high school basketball programs as he trained. Going into his grade eleven year, he trained at Canada Top Flight Academy, an elite-level prep school in Ottawa, where he completed his secondary school education along with rigorous hours of practice away from home.

Following graduation, Choudhary was recruited to play in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) for the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzlies during the 2020-21 season before returning back to Canada at the end of the year to start with the Rams last August.

Despite his years of diverse training programs and cities, the point guard has plans for himself in Toronto.

"The basketball culture in Toronto is growing by the minute," Choudhary says, "it's a really traditional sport in this city and I love the vibe and energy down here."

He mentions how much he loves his downtown apartment as well, which is only a five minute walk from the university, where he's hoping to study a degree in journalism, and a ten minute one from the Mattamy Athletic Centre, where the Rams train five times a week. 

"I love my team," Choudhary says, "we have a coaching staff that cares, and once they know your ability, they're gonna push you to be the best you can be every single day."

Like most of the players on the team, he's known head coach David DeAveiro for years, adding that he "wouldn't want to be playing for anybody else in Canada."

And although he could go on for hours raving about the city, the coaches and the program, Ankit Choudhary's favourite upside to playing in Toronto is that Rani Choudhary can make it to a home game. 
  "My mom is my new number one fan. She never misses a game, whether she's streaming it live or in person," he says, scrolling through photos of the two of them at countless basketball games over the years. Choudhary grows visibly older with every photo while his mother remains an unwavering, beaming ray of sunshine in every single one.

"Growing up, she was the one driving me to practices, she learned my game to help me get better," he says. "She just wanted to see me happy."

He pauses for a moment, stopping at one post-game picture in particular.

"I remember I sucked in the first half of this game," he says, chuckling, "she called me out on it, and I went back and performed better for the rest of it because I wanted to make her proud. So I give all my credit to her, honestly."

While Choudhary gives credit where credit is due to the various people in his life who have helped him become the person and player he is today, he's humble about how much of his success ultimately comes from his hard work and ability. The athlete put up 26 points in the Rams' season opener and remains a supportive and reliable piece for his teammates both on and off the court.

Choudhary thinks with his head and plays with his heart. 

And before every game, to remind himself to play for his mother and everyone else who has helped him along the way - and also just because "they taste good" - a stomach full of M&M's too.