In this his freshman season playing for Oakland University’s men’s basketball team, decorated United States Army veteran Isaiah Brock suddenly found himself — and his brand new career — at a crossroads.

His coach, Greg Kampe, was dismayed by the six-foot-eight, 191 pound-former soldier’s play in the Golden Grizzlies’ games, despite his stellar performances in their daily practices. So, he challenged him.

“He basically questioned how seriously I took the team’s mission and what was the end goal that the team wanted to achieve,” Brock recalled to the Detroit Free Press. “He was basically [asking] … ‘Is this what you want to do? Do you love playing basketball?’ He asked me that, I basically sat back and asked myself.”

The introspection must’ve worked though, because afterward Brock went on a tear in their contests on the road against Youngstown State and Cleveland State, putting up double figures in points and rebounds in both victories.

For his dazzling exploits, he was rewarded with some hardware — the Horizon League (the conference in which Oakland plays) named him both the player and freshman of the week.

“At first I thought I was taking this as seriously as everybody else. I have that winning spirit just like the rest of them. But I guess Coach Kampe was questioning did I want to reach my true potential for the team. Did I want to be great?”

“It does excite me. It helps me gauge where I should be at and what I’m capable of. I talked to Coach Drew [Valentine] at the end of both games and he’s like, ‘You see what I’m talking about?'”

In his last two games, Brock is averaging 15 points and 14 rebounds.