SALT LAKE CITY — Franklin Session started his Saturday afternoon with a cryotherapy session with Killer 3’s player captain Stephen Jackson.
His two-point, seven-rebound, two-assist performance wasn’t enough to help the squad beat 3’s Company at Vivint Arena, as they fell 51-41, but the legend of “Frank Nitty” is larger than him just competing in the Big 3 basketball league.
As casual fans were focused on the return of former Utah Jazz players Joe Johnson, Al Jefferson and DeShawn Stevenson, little did they know that Session also had local ties as a former Weber State University guard.
In fact, less than 24 hours ahead of the Big 3 tipoff, Session tied his career-high 60 points in South Central Los Angeles’ Drew League, where he's earned a reputation for torching professional basketball players in the pro-am setting on a normal basis.
Chicago Bulls guard Denzel Valentine is one of the most notable victims on the three-time Drew League MVP’s hit list.
“(I shot) 22-37 from the field. C’mon man,” Session laughed, while recounting the 60-point game. “Stuff like that don’t even happen. Not to people like me. So just being in that mood, that grind, that feeling of you just can’t miss. That was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done.”
Although NBA All-Star Damian Lillard has praised Session as the best non-NBA player he’s ever hooped against via Twitter, Session still credits his Utah experience for helping him get his act together.
“That was one of the best things that happened to me in my life,” Session said.
After a strong junior season at Weber State, alongside Lillard, where he was named the 2009-10 Big Sky Conference Newcomer of the Year, Session was dismissed from the team after averaging 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds. Wildcats coach Randy Rahe still refuses to go into details concerning the disciplinary matter, but still views him as a “good kid” who struggled to adjust to the structure of college basketball — notably in practice.
“Frank was always a baller. He didn’t come from a great background and all that stuff so when it was discipline involved and accountability involved with us after his junior college career, that was something we tried to help him with and he had a hard time adjusting to that, but he was good,” Rahe said. “He was highly, highly talented and when he was just playing and didn’t have to think, kind of like pickup basketball, he was hard to deal with. But that’s not how Division I college is played, so it only worked out for a year and then he went on and moved on, but when he got going in the Drew League I thought that was right up his alley.”
In terms of pure talent, Rahe still considers Session to be in the top 10 of all the guys he’s coached throughout his 13-year tenure at Weber State. After being sent home, he picked himself back up to play at Division II Cal State before pursuing stints in the G League, National Basketball League of Canada, overseas in Qatar and now Ice Cube’s Big 3 professional 3-on-3 league.
The game at Vivint Arena marked his first time being back in Utah since suffering the college heartbreak.
“I loved everything about it. I wanted to come back bad but my state of mind at the time, I was young and immature,” Session said of Weber State. “I don’t think at that time I was ready to take on a full basketball role. I don’t think I was completely sold.
“I never thought I was good enough, so I’ve always had in the back of my mind that I’m gonna go to work,” he continued. “So when I used to bump heads, I didn’t think about it as, ‘Just shut up. Shut up and play the game you love,’ but it was a crazy grind.”
He was highly, highly talented and when he was just playing and didn’t have to think, kind of like pickup basketball, he was hard to deal with. But that’s not how Division I college is played, so it only worked out for a year and then he went on and moved on, but when he got going in the Drew League I thought that was right up his alley. – Randy Rahe
Former NBA enforcer Charles Oakley is now Session’s coach for the Killer 3’s and wasn’t fully aware of his summer hoops reputation prior to the Big 3. But in the time they’ve spent together, Oakley says everyone is “hooting and hollering” about his body of work, even in the midst of all the ex-NBA players spread throughout the rosters.
“I’m just trying to tell him to take good shots and make every possession count,” Oakley said. “I don’t know who’s been coaching him but he’s gonna have to be humble being on my team.”
Session entered Utah with the league’s second-most assists behind Johnson, despite being known for his natural scoring ability in the Drew League. His nickname “Frank Nitty” stems from Italian-American gangster and enforcer Frank Nitti from Al Capone’s crew because of his style of play on the court.
“If you ever watch some highlights, I talk a lot and I’m the enforcer on the court,” Session explained. “I’m not gonna let nobody get bullied, so it’s an American gangster named Frank Nitti who was an enforcer, so guys growing up in LA gave me the nickname and the way I play on the court it was perfect, so I rolled with it.”
These days, Session still communicates with Lillard on a regular basis as he’s now traveling on the Big 3 circuit. He still hasn’t grown comfortable with attempting some of the plays he continues to make in the Drew League because his role is situational, but that doesn’t mean his status is any less impactful. Players know about him, even on opposite teams.
“When I first heard about him, he was going on his second or third (Drew League) MVP,” said Stevenson. “I really didn’t see his game until it was really big on social media, but I just like him.
“I just love stories like that.”