Basile is Ready for Freshman Campaign at WSU

by Alan Hieber

In the way that basil can be a key ingredient to a recipe, 6-8 freshman forward Grant Basile could one day become a key piece to success for Wright State basketball.

Basketball is in his blood Basile says since his father Michael was his high school coach at Pewaukee in southeastern Wisconsin, and his grandfather also has a coaching background.

Being under the tutelage of your parent as a coach can go one of two ways he added: by them either being easier or harder on you. Basile is glad his father chose the latter option.

"He coached me harder than the other kids, and it helped me grow as a player. It gave me the opportunity to take a lot of basketball knowledge from him," Basile said. "He was never satisfied with just scoring a lot. He'd rather have me not score and have a good fundamental game, so it would translate to the next level."

Probably the most notable game Basile had was a 49-point and 23-rebound spectacle last December.

"It was nice to have a couple games with some big stat lines, but all that really matters is that we won," Basile said. "Individual stuff doesn't mean much to me. It's more about team success."

"Grant is a highly skilled and long big man. He has really good hands and a soft touch around the rim," WSU coach Scott Nagy said. "His strengths on both ends of the floor are his length and basketball intelligence."

When he chose a school to attend as a high school senior in 2017, Basile was impressed by the culture that WSU was building prior to their league title last season and how welcome he felt.

"I wanted to go somewhere with a winning culture. Coach Nagy just won coach of the year (Horizon League), so you know he's doing something right," Basile said. "The team has a family-like atmosphere, and they've been very accepting, which is what I expected."

Basile has had to adapt to not being the only big man on the roster that can perform in the paint with finesse. Senior center Parker Ernsthausen, towering at 6-11, has mentored him on the defensive end. The 6-9 sophomore and reining HL Freshman of the Year, Loudon Love, has advised him on offense.

"We'll do different skill work and go in a group. It's good to get some experience against them," Basile said.

The Raiders led the Horizon League in scoring defense last season in terms of points allowed per game (65.9), which also ranked 29th in the nation. Basile hopes a similar stat will be repeated.

"We expect that to be the same this year. He (Nagy) is really big on footwork and closing out," Basile said.

The pace and competitive practices of the collegiate game have been an additional adjustment to overcome, and Basile already has a good understanding of that.

"You have to do more with fewer dribbles, be patient, know your role in the offense and take what you can get," Basile said. "It gets pretty intense. Guys will go at each other, but at the end of the day everyone knows it is practice, and we're still teammates."

Whatever Basile's role for the Raiders ends up being this season, Nagy has high confidence in his tall forward.

"Grant brings nice size to our basketball team. He has the ability to be special in the post, but he is skilled enough to play on the perimeter as well," Nagy said. "We look forward to his bright future."

Players Mentioned

Grant Basile

Parker Ernsthausen

Loudon Love

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