It wasn’t too long ago that Sam Sessoms was the new guy in Happy Valley, transferring from Binghamton to Penn State prior to the 2020-21 season.
In 2021, a year filled with adversity and changes for the Nittany Lions, Sessoms is one of the few constants in the program.
In the midst of growing into a certified leadership role over the summer, though, the Philadelphia native dealt with his own adversity.
At the beginning of the summer, Sessoms’ younger sister was shot in the leg outside of the family’s Philadelphia home. His sister made a full recovery, and his family moved across town.
Exactly four months after his sister was shot, his dad and brother were shot inside the new home. His dad recovered after spending time in the hospital in critical condition, but his younger brother died at the hospital.
The home was destroyed, and the Sessoms family was once again in the market for a new home.
Sam started a GoFundMe to help pay for his brother’s funeral and family’s new living expenses.
By the end of the campaign, Sessoms had raised $67,787.
At Penn State’s media day in October, head coach Micah Shrewsberry acknowledged the difficulties Sessoms faced this summer, and he said the team rallied around him as much as the Penn State community did.
Despite having a brand-new roster in Happy Valley, Sessoms said the team came together quickly, and it helped him through some of the year’s hardships.
“The team helped me through a lot of things just being there for me, whether it was a shoulder to lean on or somebody to talk to,” Sessoms said. “Just their presence alone and being able to provide me with happiness as far as basketball, it's been big, them being here for me from the coaching staff on down.
“From coaching staff to managers to players to players' family members, everybody's been there, so it definitely helped me get through a lot of things.”
When talking about Sessoms, Shrewsberry was quick to emphasize that mental health and off-the-court wellness goes beyond the game of basketball.
He mentioned “three H's” the team talks about: heroes, highlights and hardships.
The team sits down to discuss their hardships, and it’s helped them grow closer through the variability of this past offseason.
When you miss a few shots in a game, Shrewsberry doesn’t consider that a real hardship. That’s when the separation between basketball and life becomes so important for him.
“You go through something traumatic in your life, that's something that we need to really care for, really be cognizant of talking about his feelings,” Shrewsberry said. “I talked to him about a lot of things [and] tell him that I want to help him, [but] I want to try and coach him at the same time.That's where the lines don't get blurred.
“We go on the court, and I'm demanding of him in terms of what we need. But then when practice is over, it's over. Now I’m concerned about him as the person.”
Shrewsberry said separating real hardships from basketball hardships helps put what the team is doing in perspective — playing a “kids’ game” that’s meant to be fun.
“What [Sam's] gone through [and] what some of his other teammates have gone through, those are real hardships. We can't lose perspective in terms of what we're doing as a basketball team. We're here to get a great education. We're here to have fun, try and win together [and] provide entertainment for people that come and watch us.
“But we need to have fun at the same time, and we need to remember that there's people going through a whole lot more in their lives than you know losing a basketball game here and there.”
While there have been eight new players come in this season to round out the Nittany Lion roster, the group is still one of the most experienced in the country.
Sessoms said it was easy to realize there’s something “bigger than basketball” between this group.
“With age and wisdom, we know it's just not basketball. It's kind of like life now, how you treat the game is how you're going to treat life,” Sessoms said. “We're always there for each other. I'm not hesitant in asking any of my teammates for anything off the court if I need it.”
One of the other returners to the team, Seth Lundy, said Sessoms is probably his best friend out of anyone on the team.
The pair lived together throughout the summer and still room together now, and there’s a strong bond between them.
“We're always looking out for each other and stuff like that,” Lundy said. “He got my back, I got his back type thing. I know that's a brother I'm gonna have for life.”
Lundy admitted he probably knows Sessoms as well as anyone else on the team. While he was there for Sessoms throughout the summer, he knew when to give space and let Sessoms worry about his own family, too.
The junior forward saw his roommate’s dedication to basketball throughout the offseason and knew he could take an important step forward this season. He also knew their off-the-court bond would translate to their play on the court.
Sessoms and Lundy were the focal points of Penn State’s season-opening win against Youngstown State as the team’s top two scorers.
Lundy poured in 23 points, while Sessoms added 17 points, eight assists and a pair of steals. Sessoms was also the driving force behind staving off a late push from the Penguins, scoring on four-straight possessions at one time.
The performance from someone who went through so much to get to that point got high praise from Shrewsberry.
“Sam made great plays for us down the stretch… Eight assists and two turnovers is impressive. He's making plays at the rim, but when people come and help, he's finding guys on the perimeter,” Shrewsberry said after the 75-59 win. “I think that's an area of growth for him where you see improvement from last year. He's bought into what we're trying to do. You see it each and every day, and I thought he carried us.”
While it’s technically his second year in the program, that was Sessoms’ first game in front of a Bryce Jordan Center crowd, and he’s actually on campus and experiencing Penn State for the first time.
He admitted there was excitement, nerves and even some fear for his senior season.
Sessoms said that fear comes from the unknown, from not knowing what will happen tomorrow. But then again, he said people would still have fear if they knew what to expect.
For that reason, Sessoms said he lives by hope. Hope for success. Hope for positivity.
After everything he’s been through, the way his parents raised him and the game of basketball, he’s learned not to take what’s in front of him for granted.
“I've always been appreciating life more than others. I come from a rough place in Philadelphia. You never know what can happen, so you gotta appreciate your life,” Sessoms said. “We came from a low socioeconomic status, but it was always somebody next door [or] down the street who grew up in worse conditions. You gotta just appreciate your life no matter what you have.
“You just gotta appreciate every day, every moment like it's your last — whether it's off the court, on the court, just life in general.”
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