Sessions jumped to a stunning start in his D-League career, averaging 30.5 points through Tulsa's first two games. (Getty)

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November 28, 2007

MILWAUKEE -- If you scroll down through the Bucks.com archives, you will not find too many outlandish predictions under this byline.

But if this writer had issued this one publicly rather than to a small audience about a month earlier, maybe some National Basketball Association general manager would have offered him a lucrative position as a player personnel guy or, at the very least, chief scout.

Before the Milwaukee Bucks tipped off their 2007-08 season, I made a couple of forecasts to a few colleagues:

No. 1, that Ramon Sessions, the Bucks' 2007 second-round draft pick, would probably spend at least some time in the National Basketball Development League this season.

No. 2, that Sessions would prove to his skeptics someday soon that he is an NBA keeper.

Well, if you're an avid visitor to Bucks.com, you know that Sessions appears to be ahead of whatever learning curve just about anybody may have had for him.

The University of Nevada product was a smash hit in his NBDL premiere, earning the league's Performer of the Week award after putting together brilliant back-to-back outings in his first two games with the Tulsa 66ers, the Bucks' league affiliate.

Sessions, the first NBA player to be assigned to the D-League in 2007-08, led the Tulsa 66ers to a 2-0 start over the opening weekend of the season.

The sturdy 6-foot-3-inch, 190-pounder dropped 27 points and came up with nine rebounds and four assists, all team-highs, in Tulsa's 94-86 victory over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (there's one for the nickname hall of fame) on Nov. 23. The very next night, he unleashed a 34-point, six-rebound, six-assist barrage in the 66ers' 117-109 win over the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Sessions was the 56th overall selection in the 2007 NBA Draft. He earned second-team All-WAC honors during his junior season with the Wolf Pack, and with his grand opening in the NBDL, he joined the Detroit Pistons' Amir Johnson and the Dallas Mavericks' J.J. Barea as NBA-assigned players to win Performer of the Week during their time in the D-League.

By the time he arrived in Milwaukee for his first pro camp, Sessions was well aware of the success the Bucks have had with second-round draft choices, having joined a lineage that includes Hall-of-Famer Alex English, Fred Roberts, Rafer Alston and even several of his Bucks teammates.

"The Bucks have had a lot of success in the second round," Sessions pointed out. "David Noel was just saying he was one of those second-round picks. They also got Michael Redd in the second round.

"So I'm looking to be next in line."

Sessions' greatest asset might be his versatility. Most scouts deemed his defense ahead of his offense entering the draft, but he has always taken great pride in being a complete player.

During his prep heyday at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) High School, he caught recruiters' attention with his scoring prowess.

He averaged 27 points per game as a junior, setting a school record with 52 in one game. He scored 25 per outing as a senior, and broke his own school record with a 53-point performance. And he was already displaying his other talents, averaging 11.8 rebounds and 8.1 assists.

Sessions played more of a supporting role during his three seasons at Nevada, but it was a vital one. He made the all-Western Athletic Conference Newcomer Team as a freshman, and was an integral component of one of America's emerging mid-major programs.

The Wolf Pack went 43-7 in the WAC and 81-18 overall during Sessions' three seasons in the program.

"Playing at Nevada was a great experience for me," Sessions said. "I came in the year after their Sweet 16 year. People were thinking that was just a fluke year. In my three years there, we got to the NCAA Tournament every year, and we won games in the tournament. It was a great experience.

"Coming from a winning program, I really feel that's helped me coming in here. I've learned how to win."

Sessions also continued his development as a complete player. He averaged 12.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists (second in the WAC) during his final collegiate season in 2006-07 and earned second-team all-WAC recognition.

Sessions played four games for the Bucks' entry in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in July, averaging 5.8 points and 2.5 assists.

"Ramon was an excellent college point guard, and we think he can develop into a solid pro," Bucks general manager Larry Harris said.

"I'm a versatile player," Sessions said. "I'm the type of guy that's going to defend, first of all. And I'm going to get guys the open shot. I like to penetrate to the hole, get up my floater here and there.

"I'm just going to bring to the table whatever the Bucks need."

Sessions spent much of his first pro camp matched up against Bucks starting point guard Mo Williams, who has already written one of the NBA's most dramatic second-round success stories. Sessions' performance made an impression on Williams.

"He's been great," Williams said. "He works extremely hard. He wants to get better, and he is getting better. He has a lot of talent. He has a very high IQ for the game, yet he's very observant and willing to learn.

"He's young -- he's a rookie -- so he's learing the game, learning situations right now. But I think he'll be a pretty good player."

Williams sees all the qualities in Sessions that are needed to be a solid pro point.

"I think a key thing about him, especially being a point guard, is that he doesn't have a glaring weakness that's going to hurt his team," Williams said. "That's a great quality to have."

"He has great maturity, too. That comes from a few years in a good college program and coming into a situation where he's not on a real, real young team where he's called upon to play big minutes right now. He's had a chance to sit back, watch the game and learn from veteran players and actually learn from his experiences of practicing in game situations."

Sessions readily accepted his position from the day he arrived in Milwaukee for his first pro camp.

"It's a lot different from college," he said. "In college, you're the man. Here, you've got to start at the bottom and work your way up. But for the most part, it's been a great experience, and I've enjoyed every minute of it."

Both Harris and Bucks Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak have expressed their gratitude to the team's owner, Sen. Herb Kohl, for agreeing to sign 15 players to guaranteed contracts, which not all NBA owners are willing to do. Sessions is grateful for that, too.

"Coming in here, I knew there may be a chance I'd go down to Tulsa," Sessions said. "I'll do whatever they need me to do.

"At the end of the day, I'm still a Buck whether I'm here or there."

Williams saw Sessions' maturity in the way he responded to being sent to the D-League, where he is getting an opportunity to play consistent minutes.

Ersan Ilyasova, whose NBA rights the Bucks maintain, benefitted immensely from the time he spent with the 66ers two seasons ago. He played for the Bucks last season before signing a lucrative contract to play in Spain.

"I talked to him (Sessions) about going to the D-League," Williams said. "He just wants to play.

"The good thing about it is he knows he's going down there to get minutes, get better, and it's not a punishment. It's not discouraging; it's encouraging. He's looking forward to the opportunity."

And Sessions has tackled that opportunity, more like a Penn State linebacker than an unheralded point guard.