Bucks' answer man always ready at the call
True to form, Sessions responds to opportunity's knock
by Truman Reed / special to Bucks.com

Ramon Sessions was drafted 56th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft and is now playing quality minutes for the Milwaukee Bucks. (Getty)

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November 14, 2008

Be honest now.

In the weeks leading up to the recent election, did you opt not to answer the knock on your door because you knew campaign workers were making the rounds?

Did you let the phone ring rather than picking it up because you figured the voice on the other end was going to bombard you with political rhetoric?

Join the club.

Ramon Sessions probably wasn't home a lot during the campaign rush, because his job has been keeping him pretty busy lately. But if his home habits are anything like his job performance, you could venture an educated guess that he never ditched anyone when he was home.

You'd be hard-pressed to find another National Basketball Association player who has answered opportunity's knock or responded to his coach's beckon call as eagerly as Sessions has over the span of his young NBA career.

"I just try to take advantage of every opportunity I get out there," Sessions admits. "You never know when it’s going to be your last.”

In order to seize his first legitimate NBA opportunity, Sessions had to get his own foot in the door.

Unheralded despite a highly successful three-year run at the University of Nevada, Sessions was an early entry into the 2007 NBA Draft, but his name wasn't called until Milwaukee made him selection No. 56 -- out of the 60 total players who were chosen.

Sessions was well aware that the NBA isn't populated with a lot of No. 56s. Bucks management liked his upside enough to sign him to a multi-year contract on Sept. 11, 2007, but he was assigned to the Tulsa 66ers of the National Basketball Development League less than two months later.

So Sessions went to Tulsa, but he didn't let his game nor his will to succeed go south. On the contrary, he took the NBDL by storm immediately after hitting its low roads. Over a 24-game span, he averaged 21.1 points, 7.6 assists and 6.5 rebounds, had three outings of 33 points or more, achieved one triple-double and seven double-doubles and was twice named the league's Performer of the Week.

Before he could enjoy one of the small rewards of NBDL life -- he was a lock to play in the D-League All-Star Game -- Sessions was summoned back to the NBA and rejoined the Bucks on Feb. 1. Shortly after he touched back down in Milwaukee, though, life threw him a curve; no, make that a beanball.

In his first practice back with the Bucks, he sustained a fractured left hand, which sidelined him through Feb. 23.

Sessions tried to stay ready in every way he possibly could, but did not make his long-awaited NBA debut until March 9 in Philadelphia. Those aforementioned opportunities began knocking more frequently as the season entered its homestretch, and Sessions was there to respond.

He averaged 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 7.5 assists and a steal over his next 16 games. The pinnacle of his rookie campaign came April 14 at the Bradley Center, when he broke Guy Rodgers' 40-year-old franchise record of 21 assists in a game, dealing out 24 against the Chicago Bulls. He also scored 20 points in the contest, becoming the first player in the team's 40-year history to collect 20 points and 20 dimes in the same game.

No one was quite sure where Sessions would stand in the Milwaukee Bucks' point-guard pecking order after they signed 10-year NBA veteran Tyronn Lue back on July 17, then traded for five-year NBA vet Luke Ridnour a little less than a month later.

No matter how the point-guard logjam was sorted out, Bucks center Andrew Bogut figured Sessions would meet the challenge head-on. Bogut became an ardent admirer of Sessions after observing his rookie work ethic, and he has never seen him let up.

"He’s one of the first guys in the gym," Bogut said. "He spent the whole summer in Milwaukee, which is a good sign. He’s always working with one of the assistants. He’s definitely dedicated to getting better as a player.

"There’s no doubt he’s going to get his chance. He went from being inactive to starting, or coming off the bench ... he’s been juggled all around and done a great job.”

Sessions did not play a minute in the team's first two games of the 2008-09 campaign, but stayed on the edge of his seat rather than slumping against its back. And when adversity paid an early visit to Milwaukee's backcourt ranks, his warm-ups were off as soon as Coach Scott Skiles gave him the nod.

Before the regular season even started, Ridnour, who had been designated the starting point man, was dealing with a knee injury. Then he began experiencing back spasms during week one.

On the other side of the court, shooting guard Michael Redd sprained his right ankle during the team's Nov. 2 game at New York and missed the following four contests against Washington, Boston, Phoenix and Cleveland.

Through it all, Sessions kept showing up and working hard every day. He has always been self-motivated to do that.

"I just try to bring it every day," he said. "First of all, this is my job. And I love to play this game."

Sessions did notice a distinct change in the intensity of Milwaukee camp and practices from his first NBA go-round to his second.

"Oh, definitely, definitely," he said. "The intensity’s been there day-in and day-out. If you don’t bring it, Coach is going to call you out. And everybody’s been bringing it day-in and day-out.

"In training camp, we went long, we went hard, and we’re still going hard. It’s keeping up every day.”

Skiles wasn't quite sure how to shuffle his lineup with Ridnour hobbling and Redd sitting out. He looked to versatile veteran Charlie Bell. He pressed Sessions into duty. Then he eventually experimeted with something he had pondered during the preseason: playing Sessions alongside Ridnour once the veteran newcomer had recovered sufficiently from his ailments to see extended minutes.

"Last year, I had to take advantage of every chance I got, when Mo (Williams) when down, giving me minutes to play, that was big," Sessions said. "Now, Luke’s been hurt, so I’ve just tried to step in and take advantage and try to run the team as best I can.”

Sessions has had to adjust to more than just intensified practices. The coaching change has been accompanied by a different, more challenging set of demands for the point guards.

"Oh yeah," Sessions said. "Coach Skiles, having been a great point guard and knowing the NBA as well as he does, he’s very demanding of his point guards.

"We have to sit in and listen to him and see what he wants, because we’re the coach out there on the floor. We have to run the team the way he wants it to be run."

The lessons are obviously hitting home. Sessions is saying "we" instead of "I," referring to the Bucks point-guard trio of himself, Ridnour and Lue. He likes the dynamics that have developed among them.

"They’re two great veterans," he said. "You know T-Lue’s story – he’s a championship guy. He’s been to the playoffs, has played a lot of seasons. He's a true vet ... a great guy to learn from.

"Luke, he’s in his sixth year, I believe. A high draft pick ... another great guy who’s been in the league for awhile. I’m just looking at those two guys and trying to learn the game and pattern my game after theirs."

Sessions knows all three players bring different strengths to the mix, and he hopes they can become a winning combination.

"All three of us can play out there," he said. "And all three of us help each other night-in and night-out. Different guys do different things well. We all do what’s best for the team."

Some coaches get locked in on playing just one point guard at a time. Bogut was impressed to see Skiles think outside that box and play Ridnour and Sessions extensively together in Milwaukee's first home win of the season over the Washington Wizards on Nov. 5.

Bogut, his teammates and his coaches were just as pleased with the results: not only a Bucks victory, but 20 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds next to Ridnour's name and 22 points and eight assists adjacent to Sessions'.

"They were great," Bogut said. "Coach did a very smart thing playing those two guys together, which was surprising to a lot of people. But they did a great job for us.

"Having two primary ballhandlers out there pushing the ball up the floor a bit more really helped us, I thought."

Sessions continued to deliver as more minutes came his way in the next home game, collecting a team-high 23 points and six assists in 34 minutes against Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 8.

Through five games, the 6-foot-3-inch, 190-pound Sessions was averaging 17.2 points and 6.2 assists per outing.

Sessions realizes that with eight new players on the Milwaukee roster and a new head coach and four new assistants alongside them, the Bucks' "Ready to Rise" movement is a work in progress. But he likes the way the mission is proceeding.

"Each day seems like it’s been getting better and better," he said. "Of course, our team bonding is not perfect yet, because we’ve got so many new guys, but I feel like it’s getting better and better.

"Day-in and day-out, we’ve just been working hard, trying to get it right where we need it to be."

Where Ramon Sessions is concerned, Bucks coaches, players and fans are coming to expect nothing less.