The FIBA U19 World Cup has officially wrapped, with Team USA taking home the gold. However, it's the New Zealand squad that had Badger fans' attention, as two Badger commits in Hayden Jones and Jackson Ball both represented their country this past week in the tournament. While the Kiwis didn't win it all, Wisconsin fans have a lot to be excited about after a promising run for the young duo. So how did the future Badgers fare against the world's top talent?
Wisconsin commits lead deep World Cup run for New Zealand
Jones, a class of 2025 commit, was the best player on the court at times, and had a great World Cup, leading New Zealand to a fourth place finish. Over seven games, the 6-foot-7 wing averaged an impressive 14.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists. His game is coming along nicely, and he could have a chance to showcase it early on at Wisconsin as there could be minutes up for grabs behind starter Andrew Rohde. He'll soon head to Madison to join the rest of the 2025 class and start gearing up the Badgers' season.
In the 2026 class Wisconsin locked up Jackson Ball, who struggled at times during the tournament, but still has another year to polish his game. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 9.9 points, 2.4 assists and 3.1 assists on just 31% shooting. Still, he's been torching the New Zealand Basketball League, averaging 20 points per game, including a 40-point performance. Ball will join the Badgers next season after another year in the NZNBL.
Wisconsin has made a big emphasis on international recruiting the past few years and look to have landed some very strong players in Ball and Jones. It's thanks in part to assistant Kirk Penney, the former Badger and New Zealand native, for securing commitments from his fellow countrymen.