Scott,
I'm not quite sure I follow what you're asking, but I'll try to answer. By basin, I'm assuming you mean a detention pond (although I've never heard of a detention pond refered to as a basin). I suppose it would depend on what is going on upstream of the basin. Is the area large (i.e. greate than 150 acres)? are there upstream detention ponds? is there a need for water quality storage? The maximum outflow of the pond is definitely needed however, the peak inflow into the pond has little to do with determining the required volume. You'll need to do either a mass balance approach (i.e. flow in x time - flow out x time = storage requirement), or route a hydrograph through the pond (Haestad Methods PondPack, EPASWMM, etc.). Probably the best thing to do would be to check with your reviewing agency and find out what method they require.
Brian