What an impact, once again, for Grant Basile. A positive performance is almost no longer newsworthy. However, it is definitely more newsworthy that a complete player like him is not in the “top five” of any of the special rankings on shots, rebounds, assists, etc… that basketball numbers maniacs like so much.
And, clearly, it is even more newsworthy that a Serie A2 player is called by the coach of the senior national team to make his debut with the Italy shirt. Basile could be summoned, by virtue of his Italian passport obtained thanks to his Sicilian great-grandparents. And he was called up, a sign that the general qualities of the player count much more than statistics.
He knows how to do a bit of everything and this was appreciated by coach Gianmarco Pozzecco. He had been keeping an eye on him for some time, the time had come for him to launch in the double match against Iceland: first leg in Reykjavík on the 22nd, return to Reggio Emilia on the 25th, the goal is to immediately achieve qualification for the 2025 European Championships.
An escalation for Basile who, after having experienced the hardships of the fight not to be relegated in Orzinuovi last year, is playing a top championship in Cantù. With the satisfaction of the call from Italbasket: «The national team is a great opportunity for my growth path. I can’t wait to join the group and train with my teammates in blue.”
Among other things – but the matter is still to be analyzed in the folds of the regulations -, if he gets on the scoresheet with Italy, Basile could find himself in the status of “trained Italian”, with the possibility for Cantù to intervene on the market again. An issue that will be resolved soon, because there is no uniformity in the interpretation of the regulations.
