​Richie Schueler, as a founder of PhD Hoops, has sent a 14-and-under boys basketball team to the United World Games in Austria for four years straight now to represent the United States.Coming into the 2026 games, there was a specific mission set out for this age group.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe kids fell short in 2025 of winning their third straight gold medal in Europe’s “largest youth tournament” after a loss in the title game. So Schueler, his staff and the players set out on a mission — become USA’s “Redeem Team.”“We gave them that little incentive and motivation, and they were determined,” Schueler said.Competition for the United World Games was from June 18-21. Team USA worked through pool play by winning its pool, which included Austria, Turkey and the Netherlands. They moved into elimination play after that and moved into the championship gold medal game against Canada.It was a game that head coach Patrick Doherty said was no easy contest. He said one run changed the outlook of a close battle.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It was back-and-forth and competitive all game long. The teams were within 2 or 3 points the entire game until about the third quarter when the only run of the game happened. That allowed us to separate the score by 10 to 12 points, and the rest of the game was back to trading points,” Doherty said.Team USA went on to claim a 34-22 win over Canada to finish off the run of the 14U Redeem Team and bring the trophy and the gold back home.On that team was Ayden Jones of New Heights Christian Academy in Joplin.“It was a crazy experience to be a part of. It was awesome to be able to represent the USA at one of the highest levels possible,” he said.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTeam USA battled against 26 other teams at the 14U age level. This was one of 14 total teams across six trips that PhD Hoops sent out to compete in international events this year. There was another 14U team that competed in Spain. The age groups ranged from 14U to 22U.Instagram findJones’ opportunity with the team came in a way that Schueler called “unique.”“I personally found him on Instagram. I wrote him right away,” Schueler said.Jones said, “I was shocked” about receiving the message from Schueler for an opportunity to join the team. He immediately suspected a scam and went up to his dad, Anthony Jones, to show him.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter some parental guidance, it was clear this was no scam. So they set up a time to talk about Jones joining PhD Hoops’ 14U team.“I had a nice conversation with his parents, and then he joined us,” Schueler said.Schueler recalled Jones being excited for the opportunity as he received messages from the teenager almost weekly about joining the team.He also said his recruitment of Jones came late because some players had stepped away from the team and spots opened up. Jones didn’t become a part of the team with plans to