You don’t replace an MVP like that. Crowned best player of the regular season and the playoff final, but already gone to Le Mans, Tray Buchanan (1.87 m, 25 years old) will leave a huge void in the La Rochelle squad. It was therefore quite natural that the promoted person began his recruitment by searching for the person who would have the difficult task of replacing him. And the lucky one is Sam Sessoms (1,82 m, 24 ans)…
67% for shoots in Romania!
In the press release announcing his arrival, the name of Tray Buchanan does not appear anywhere, so as not to put unnecessary pressure on him, but the profiles are so similar that it is difficult not to draw some parallels. Two young players, ascendant scorers, who are coming out of a rookie season in poorly referenced championships: in Cyprus for the neo-Manceau, in Kosovo then in Romania for Sessoms. First signed by the obscure Gjakovë club, the Philadelphia native performed so well in FBK (19.8 points at 48%, 4.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 18 games) that he already been able to move up a level by joining Craiova (19.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 13 games).
In Romania, the combo guard with a very unstable university career (three different universities) impressed with unreal numbers in terms of accuracy, certainly impossible to reproduce: 96/144 shots, or 66.7% success, including 60% at 3-pointers (28/47)! Stade Rochelais certainly doesn’t ask for that much, but…
The reactions
Sam Sessoms : “I decided to join Stade Rochelais Basket because it is the opportunity for me to measure myself against some of the best players in Europe. Everyone knows how tough the French championship is! I can’t wait to get started and take on this new challenge by showing what I’m capable of by measuring myself against the best. I can’t even explain how happy I am for the opportunity the club is giving me. »
Julien Cortey (coach) : “Sam completely matches the profile of a scoring leader that we were looking for! He has a solid university education and he had a great first professional season shared between Romania and Kosovo. For this first professional season, he showed his ability to score, notably with a high percentage behind the three-point line. He is a small point guard who can be a real offensive leader. On top of that, it corresponds to everything we want in terms of human values. He’s a great guy who’s here for a collective project. I am delighted to welcome him to the team! »
