RENO, Nev. — Former Nevada basketball star Ramon Sessions is having the April of his life in the NBA.

So far this month, the Milwaukee Bucks' rookie point guard who celebrated his 22nd birthday on April 11 has broken two team records, hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer and earned his way into the starting lineup.

Not bad for a guy who was four picks from being undrafted in last June's NBA draft.

"I could see him becoming a starter on a playoff team. Thats how good he could become," Bucks assistant coach Bill Peterson told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Peterson, who is in charge of player development for Milwaukee, should know. He worked with Steve Nash during his early years with the Dallas Mavericks and saw the two-time NBA MVP make mistake after mistake.

Sessions set a franchise record with 24 assists in Milwaukee's 151-135 loss to Chicago on Monday night. He also scored 20 points — the first 20-20 with points and assists in franchise history.

After spending most the season in the NBA's Developmental league, Sessions has started the last five games for the Bucks and has averaged 8.8 points, 9.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game this month. He also became the seventh player in NBA history to record 13 or more assists in at least two of his first 15 NBA games, joining the likes of All-Stars Isiah Thomas and Mark Jackson.

A prep star in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Sessions skipped his senior year of eligibility at Nevada to enter the draft last spring. He started putting in his hard work for the D-Leagues Tulsa 66ers and now its starting to pay NBA dividends. He is averaging nearly a double-double this month and said that wouldnt have been possible without his D-League stint.

"I just looked at it as an opportunity," Sessions said. "I looked at it as a chance to learn the NBA game and a chance to show what I can do at this level. I went down there and tried to continue to learn and become a better player."

He averaged 21.1 points, 7.6 assists and 6.5 rebounds in 24 games with Tulsa before being recalled by the Bucks.

Sessions said his Bucks teammates have helped him adjust to the NBA lifestyle. The Bucks recently went through a stretch in which they were on the road 17 days in a 24-day period.

"All the players have been great," Sessions said. "They invite me over to their house for dinner and we talk about things outside of basketball. They are helping me learn how to be a professional and how to play the game."

But nobody has meant more to him than Peterson, who quickly became his mentor.

"Whatever I need, he is there for me. We watch game film together, he helps me during practice, we work on all the little things. Coach Peterson cares about me as a player and a person," Sessions said.

Peterson likes his prize pupil's willingness to learn.

"I realized early he really has a teachable spirit," Peterson said. "He gravitated to me. He wanted to get better. ... If you sit him down and talk to him about something, he will work on it. He doesnt have that attitude where he says, I know. Leave me alone, Im playing."

All the success is even sweeter considering the difficult road he traveled.

After being recalled from the D-League in February, Sessions broke his left hand in his first practice with the Bucks. Not knowing he had seriously injured himself, Sessions finished the practice before seeing a doctor.

"He was having a great practice," Peterson said. "He was kind of down and upset after that. Then I thought, Well, what are we going to do now? He cant just sit around. So we started watching tape together. I made some DVDs of him playing and we just started studying his game."

After sitting out four weeks with the injury, Sessions made his NBA debut March 9 and played the entire fourth quarter in back-to-back games — both wins — in early April. He even made the highlight shows after sinking a buzzer-beating 19-foot jumper that gave the Bucks a 110-109 victory over the Washington Wizards on April 2.

"It was just a great feeling," Sessions said. "When youre little, you dream about hitting the game-winning shot like M.J."

The Bucks hold a team option on Sessions for next season, and Peterson said he would be shocked if Milwaukee didnt pick it up.

"Hes just playing so well right now," Peterson said. "If it was up to me, which it isnt, it would be an easy decision."