BELGRADE (Belgium) - This summer, Belgium will be playing at the FIBA EuroBasket for the sixth straight time since 2011.
The Belgian women's national team, reigning back-to-back European champions, have set a high bar for the country's basketball aspirations.
But they are also finally starting to make some noise at the youth ranks, with Jayden Hodge helping do his part to help spread the word at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2025.
"Belgian basketball is really starting to get better."
Hodge came up big for Belgium in their first win of the tournament with 29 points to go with 9 rebounds and 5 steals against Latvia. Through two games he is averaging 23 points and 8 rebounds.
This is the fourth straight summer Hodge is playing for the country. He was part of the Belgium team that last summer finished seventh at the U18 EuroBasket - the country's best junior result since fourth place in 1996. And it meant that Belgium would be playing back-to-back Division A tournaments for the first time since a four-tournament run between 1974 and 1980.
"It was a great class of players to play with. It's always a nice feeling to play for your country but that was a special group and we did a lot of good things," said Hodge, who averaged 15.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists last summer despite being a year younger.
Hodge was playing with six of the same players who had helped Belgium finish third at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, Division B to earn promotion to Division A - those players being Corentin Efono, Jarne Elouna Eyenga, Oskar Giltay, Tristan Boone Kirill Abramovitch and Feie Tallir.
Last year's U18 team went 2-1 in the group stage and then beat Greece in the Round of 16. But they lost to Serbia in the Quarter-Finals and then fell to France in Classification 5-8 to miss out on a top-five showing, which would have meant the country's first-ever ticket to the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup.
"It was a great experience because we had a chance to qualify for the U19 World Cup which means a lot," Hodge said.
In addition to back-to-back U18 Division A appearances, Belgium played at Division A at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket in 2023 - with Hodge being one of the leaders - and the country registered fourth place finishes at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket in 2023 and 2024.
"It shows us that anything is possible and that Belgian basketball is really starting to get better," Hodge said. 'We just have to go out there and play to win. Anything can happen in a basketball game. You just have to believe in each other and ourselves."
The Houthalen-Helchteren native is not only representing Belgium in Europe but also in the United States.
Earlier this year Hodge completed his third season at St. Rose high school in New Jersey. The first two years were spent with his brother, 2004-born Matthew Hodge, who played for Belgium at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2022, Division B. This past season St. Rose won its second straight Shore Conference Tournament in the state as well as a third consecutive NJSIAA state sectional crown.
Hodge made big headlines three months ago when he announced he would be playing the upcoming high school season at the acclaimed Monteverde Academy, which has produced a number of NBA first round draft picks.
Hodge feels honored getting the word out about his homeland.
"Not a lot of people know Belgium. Belgium is really starting to get put on the map, so I really take a lot of pride in playing for my country in the USA," said Hodge, whose brother Matt will be playing at University of Villanova this up-coming season.
"We now have two NBA players (Toumani Camara and Ajay Mitchell) and hopefully we will have more soon. I think Belgium is starting to get put on the map."
Helping Hodge along his way have been his godparents, with whom he and his brother lived with they moved to the United States in 2022.
American Brian Lynch used to play with Hodge’s father, fellow USA native Odell Hodge in Belgium and also coached in the country. And his wife is Kim Clijsters - the former world number one in women's tennis who won three US Opens and also the Australian Open.
"She really does a great job in telling me stuff and giving me tips on how to take care of my body - what to eat and what to eat before games," Hodge said about fellow Belgian Clijsters.
"She also talked to me about doing a lot of visualization and stretching before games and how to prepare yourself to perform your best for the game."
Hodge's performance on the court was not lost on USA Basketball authorities who invited the forward to participate in the USA Junior National Team minicamp at the NCAA Final Four in Phoenix in 2024.
"The decision was a little bit easier for me to choose because I had already played two years for Belgium and I really liked it."
"Just being able to play and practice with the best players in the country and the world ... a number of those guys won the (FIBA U17) World Cup (2024). Just being there was a great experience," he said.
Hodge didn't really have to think too long about switching national team allegiances though.
"The decision was a little bit easier for me to choose because I had already played two years for Belgium and I really liked it. And in the future I have a better chance to play with the Lions than with Team USA," he said.
Speaking of the Belgian senior national team, Hodge has a dream for the Lions: playing with his brother like he did at St. Rose.
"That would be just amazing. We did a lot of good things. Being able to play with him helped and pushed me. I would love to play with with him on the national team. That would be amazing to represent the country with him."
And help even more to put Belgium on the map.
FIBA