Ramon Sessions on Wolf Pack practice facility dedication: 'This is a dream for me'

Ramon Sessions didn’t expect to get emotional, but there he was Friday morning fighting back tears as he stood in front of a brick building on Nevada’s campus that is now adorned with his name.

“Dreams do come true,” the former Wolf Pack star said, “and this is a dream for me.”

Sessions, who is entering his 11th season in the NBA, was in town for his induction into the Wolf Pack athletics Hall of Fame on Friday night. But his visit served two purposed. Earlier in the day, the school’s new basketball practice facility, made possible by his $1 million donation, was dedicated in his honor, with the phrase “Ramon Sessions Basketball Performance Center” lettered in silver on the side of the building.

“It’s one of those things where words can’t express or describe the feelings I feel right now,” Sessions said. “Being from South Carolina and to be all the way out here in Reno, a place that gave me a chance when a lot of people didn’t, a place I come back to every summer because they did so much in my career, to have my name on the building is huge. It’s something I wake up in my sleep about, something I dream about and it actually happened.”

The projected cost of the facility was $3 million, Wolf Pack athletic director Doug Knuth said, with Sessions’ gift putting the funding over the top. It’s the biggest donation a former Nevada student-athlete has made to the school and head coach Eric Musselman said it’s a “game-changer” for his program.

“It doesn’t happen often to have a former player be this generous and give back like this, and I think that tells you how special he is as a person and how special this place is as well,” Musselman said.

When Sessions attended Nevada from 2004-07, he actually used to have classes in the building, which was formerly known as the Lombardi Recreation Center. When the school built a new student wellness center last year, UNR president Marc Johnson gifted a portion of Lombardi to athletics, which had to raise the money to renovate the facility, which includes two full-length basketball courts, a strength and conditioning center that will be used by all student-athletes, a nutrition bar, coaches’ offices and locker room space.

“When I got the NBA, I said, ‘I’m here now, I’m living my dream now,’ but how can I change lives?” said Sessions, whose family, including his grandpa who had never been to Reno, attended the ceremony. “Growing up the way I grew up, it was all about giving back. This was one of those things that I had to do.”

The construction on the project isn’t completely finished, but Sessions and the Wolf Pack basketball players toured the facility after the press conference. The practice courts are expected to be finished Oct. 1 and the strength center Jan. 1.

“Two courts, eight baskets, resurfacing the floor, new lights, new paint, scoreboard, a sound system, we’re going to Wolf Pack it up and put Wolf Pack graphics everywhere and make it real nice,” Knuth said. “The really big thing for our coaches is the impact on training and practicing with the current teams, but it’s also about recruiting for us and to give our coaches this kind of asset is a big deal.”

Sessions said he had to pinch himself as he walked through the facility to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. He tried to defer credit for the project, saying many people contributed to make it possible.

“The president (Marc Johnson) all made this happen by letting us get the building and the donors in the community were a big part of this,” said Sessions, who will play for the New York Knicks this year. “It wasn’t just me. I call it a brotherhood, with Rory (Hickok), Eathan (O’Bryant), Chris Aramini, Rick Reviglio and some silent donors. It’s an exciting time to be with the Wolf Pack, and I’m just glad I’m a part of it.”

Knuth and Musselman both said the practice facility puts the Wolf Pack “on par” with other great college programs. It will ensure Nevada doesn’t have to travel across the city to practice as Lawlor Events Center is a shared facility and the Wolf Pack sometimes has to practice at local high schools, the Boys & Girls Club or the Reno Events Center during the year.

“All of our current players are really excited about it and from a recruiting standpoint it’s helped us a tremendous amount already, kind of sharing the vision and now being able to walk recruits in there to see what it’s about to become,” Musselman said. “It’s on par with all of the great programs across the country, and so it is really, really important for us and important for our current guys from a skill-development perspective.”

Sessions said he didn’t expect to get emotional during the ceremony. He was simply planning on saying a few words before the tour began. But, with the Wolf Pack's current men's and women's players standing behind him and a lot of community members who helped make it possible in attendance, he wasn’t able to steer clear of the tears.

“The way he spoke with that emotion, we’re going to talk about that at practice today,” Musselman said. “Eleven years later, you see how powerful the place that you played at and got your education from can be.”