DATE: Monday, August 18, 1997               TAG: 9708180061

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: Correspondent Jane Harper researched and wrote this report. 

                                            LENGTH:   57 lines

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO. . .FORMER ODU BASKETBALL STAR PETEY SESSOMS?

Petey Sessoms was Old Dominion University's leading scorer for the men's basketball team that reached the NCAA tournament in 1995, averaging 22.1 points a game. He also is the school's fourth all-time leading scorer, with 1,985 total points. Question: Is that enough to play in the NBA?

Petey Sessoms' dream of playing in the National Basketball Association hasn't been fulfilled yet, but he isn't giving up.

And the lean, 6-foot, 7-inch forward is still getting paid for playing the game he loves.

After graduating with a degree in recreation management from ODU in 1995, Sessoms played pro hoops for a team in Israel, from August to December that year.

This past summer, he played for the Philadelphia Power in the United States Basketball League, a pro summer league. Sessoms led his Israeli team in scoring and was a top scorer in the USBL as well, netting 44 points in one playoff game.

He has tried out for several NBA teams, including the Denver Nuggets and the Vancouver Grizzlies; he also participated in a pre-draft camp in Chicago but was not picked up by any of those teams.

Sessoms said last week that he's preparing to play overseas again. Where he will play, and when he will leave, however, he couldn't say.

``I don't even know what country I'm going to,'' he said with a laugh. ``My agent is looking right now.''

Sessoms, who just turned 25, said he decided to leave the country because the pay is better and he didn't get the exposure from the USBL he had hoped for.

Plus, it's more exciting overseas, he said.

``I need to do what's best for me. It's time to do something else right now.''

In the meantime, he's staying with his mother in Portsmouth and doing some carpentry work for Dillard's Department Stores to earn some money while he waits to hear from his agent.

He also visits with his 9-month-old son, Petey Jr., most weekends. The boy lives with his mother in Northern Virginia.

Sessoms said he will continue to try out for NBA teams and is still hopeful he'll make it to the big time.

Asked why he thought he hadn't been picked up so far, Sessoms wasn't sure.

``You just have to get with the right team at the right time - and when they have the right spot for you.'' MEMO: Whatever Happened To... appears every Monday, and we welcome

your suggestions for people and subjects to update. Dial INFOLINE at

640-5555 and press 7878 to leave a message for Jane Harper. ILLUSTRATION: BILL TIERNAN/File photo

Petey Sessoms, in white jersey, says he is not giving up on his

dream to play in the NBA. Since leaving ODU, he has played overseas

and in a summer league, but hasn't been signed by an NBA team.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu