Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2022-23 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 9. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season click here)
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At this point, not much fazes Sam Sessoms.
He hasn’t necessarily “seen it all,” but when it comes to life in college basketball, he’s seen plenty.
“To be honest, I'm just a smooth dude,” he said. “No matter what type of situation, I'm not going to be rattled or super nervous about anything.”
Shipley product Sam Sessoms is trying to reach the NCAA Tournament in his final college stop at Coppin State. (Photo: Courtesy Sam Sessoms)
As time goes by, experiences pile up and circumstances evolve, his goals simplify.
With one season left in his lengthy college hoops career, Sessoms wants to play in the NCAA Tournament.
“I've been in school for a while,” he said. “I've gained a lot of individual accolades and things like that, but I don't really care too much for them. I'm trying to win and play in the tournament.”
When Sessoms made the decision to transfer as a graduate student, and eventually landed at Coppin State, it was with that endgame at the front of his mind.
“That’s what it came down to,” he said. “I’m trying to play in March.”
Sessoms — a 6-foot guard and alumnus of The Shipley School — originally opened his career at Binghamton. It didn’t take long for him to make his presence felt with the Bearcats; as a true freshman in 2018-19, he led the way in scoring with 17.8 ppg, chipped in 3.5 apg and 3.3 rpg, started in all but one of 33 contests,
Year two in southern New York was about the same; Sessoms was again the leading scorer (19.4 ppg), put up improved numbers across the board (4.8 apg, 5.0 rpg, 1.6 spg), started all 29 games he played in — the works.
He rode that momentum into the transfer portal and took it straight to the high-major level, moving back to his home state and landing at Penn State. Sessoms’ numbers dipped a bit at a higher level of competition — 8.2 ppg and 2.3 apg in 2020-21 and 11.6 ppg and 2.6 apg in 2021-22 — but he still left his mark, earning rotation minutes, starting 10 games and scoring in double-digits as a senior, and improving his three-point shooting clip to 42 percent.
Ultimately, though, largely due to inconsistency in coaching, Sessoms decided a change of scenery was best for him. In his two seasons at Penn State, he’d been under two different coaches — Jim Ferry (2020-21) and Micah Shrewsberry (2021-22) — and neither was the one who’d originally recruited him; that was Pat Chambers.
“I felt like, my last year, I knew I needed to go to a place where I was hands on with the coaching staff and the head coach,” he said. “That’s what honestly led to my decision.”
For Sessoms, this is, as previously mentioned, his second time transferring — another aspect of the college basketball experience that really didn’t work him up all that much.
He said he didn’t really overthink the decision. On the contrary, he soaked it in; he’d worked hard for the chance to be sought after by other programs. He didn’t rush anything, taking his time in fielding calls from coaches and gradually narrowing down his options before arriving at the best choice.
“My second go-around, I wanted to relish the moment,” Sessoms said. “That's why I released a top six. I wanted to actually deal with all of the coaches calling my phone, because I felt like I deserved it.”
And when it came down to it, Sessoms saw Coppin State as a prime opportunity to pursue his goals of ending up in the Big Dance.
In the 2021-22 season, while the Eagles struggled in non-conference play to the tune of a 1-14 mark, they put together a 6-8 conference record and made a surprising run to the MEAC Tournament title game, before falling just one win short of an NCAA tourney berth.
When he looked at Coppin State after its 2021-22 campaign, Sessoms saw a program that had landed just a few plays away from the promised land, and believed he could help bridge that gap.
“It was kind of simple for me. You know, the main thing I talked about with the coaching staff was how they came up short in the championship game last year, and they returned the majority of the players,” Sessoms said. “And, I'm thinking, like, ‘Alright, if they lost in the championship, and I come in and do what I'm supposed to do, what I’m capable of doing, worst-case is we lose in the championship again, and the best outcome is playing in the tournament.’”
“It was as simple as that,” he added.
He’s not alone in trying to come in and help Coppin State take the next step. The Eagles’ 2022-23 roster is rife with transfers, featuring six in total from the likes of Robert Morris, Charleston Southern, Fordham, American and Oral Roberts.
Coppin State’s roster isn’t all newcomers, though. The Eagles return three of their top six scorers from last year’s roster, including Philadelphia product and Greater Hope Christian Academy alum Justin Steers.
“There's a lot of transfers, but the returning guys on the team, definitely helped us out where they could and made us feel at home,” Sessoms said. “The coaching staff was the same as well.”
According to Sessoms, amongst that roster, there seems to be an understood level of respect for his experience, having played — and found a decent amount of success — at the Big Ten level.
If nothing else, he’s battle-tested, and is someone who described himself as a natural leader.
“I think the one thing that has set me apart is just the fact that I come from the Big 10,” he said. “This is one of the highest conferences in the country. I’ve just been a part of programs where I played with 15 dudes that want to play in the next level, so they did what it takes. We played in front of big lights, big games that meant a lot versus nationally-ranked teams on a day-to-day basis.”
That experience, a wealth of proven scoring ability, and a surrounding team of transfers and experienced returners in which he has plenty of faith, Sessoms believes, could be the ticket to Sessoms’ March dreams.
But whether he ends up reaching that peak or not, it’s hard to imagine he’ll be shaken up along the way.
“Just winning the MEAC and trying to make a run into March Madness, you know, that'd be cool,” he said. “If I focus on that goal, and we achieve it, everything else will fall in line.”
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