On Monday, the ACC announced Virginia Tech forward Grant Basile as the league's Player of the Week. He's the second Hokie to earn that honor this year, joining Justyn Mutts.
A 6-9 graduate student from Pewaukee, Wis., Basile was tremendous in back-to-back wins for the Hokies. He scored 49 points off 21-of-38 (55%) shooting in Tech's wins over Duke and Syracuse. On top of that, he grabbed 16 rebounds, tallied seven assists and blocked three shots.
Basile was Tech's leading scorer in both games and is averaging 14.8 points and 5.8 boards on the year. Those numbers have spiked in his last five games, though: 20 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 55%.
"That kid is a very good player," Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young said of Basile on Monday's ACC teleconference. "He's very conscientious, is about all the right stuff. We just need him to recognize, it's not a self-confidence thing at all, but he's got to run to that fight night-in, night-out. We need him to run to it tomorrow in that matchup against [Miami forward Norchad Omier].
"I thought he was terrific against Duke, he was really good again in here [vs. Syracuse]. I thought he was good against Virginia. You need your best players to be your best players, and he's one of our best players."
Young compared Basile to Storm Murphy, Tech's point guard on last year's ACC Championship team. Another Wisconsin native (Middleton), Murphy transferred from Wofford and took some time to adjust to the flow of the ACC. Young said it isn't a "wild hope" that Basile has finally settled in.
"He belonged on that floor [vs. Duke]," Young said.
Through the first week of January, Basile's performances were up and down. In a five-game stretch against Grambling State, Boston College, Wake Forest, Clemson and NC State, he only scored in double figures twice. But he soon found his next gear, tallying 100 points and 36 rebounds in his next five games.
Basile and the Hokies travel to Miami on Tuesday night (7 p.m. ET, ESPNU) for a Quadrant 1 clash with the Hurricanes.