John Tonje

John Tonje

No. 9–Wisconsin Badgers
Position	Shooting guard
League	Big Ten Conference
Personal information
Born	(2001-04-23) April 23, 2001 (age 23) North Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	218 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High school	Omaha Central (Omaha, Nebraska)
College	Colorado State (2019–2023) Missouri (2023–2024) Wisconsin (2024–present)

John Tonje (born April 23, 2001) is an American college basketball player for the Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference.

High school career

Tonje attended Omaha Central High School in Omaha, Nebraska, where he played basketball. As a sophomore, Tonje averaged 1.6 points per game but improved to 13.6 points per games as a junior. He was the second leading scorer for the Omaha Central Eagles during his junior campaign and connected on 46 percent of his three point attempts. As a senior, Tonje averaged a Nebraska Class A State best 23.8 points along with 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.4 assists per game. He helped led the Eagles to a 22-6 record and a runner-up finish at the state tournament. His 73 triples and 82 percent free throw percentage were tops at Class A. He set a school single-season scoring record as a senior and earned first team All-State by USA Today and All-Class State All-Tournament team honors. ^[1]

Recruiting

Tonje received only 3 NCAA Division I or NCAA Division II offers out of high school from Nebraska Omaha, Missouri Western and Colorado State. ^[2]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
John Tonje SG	North Omaha, NE	Omaha Central High School (NE)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Mar 11, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A    Rivals: N/A    247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Colorado State Commit List for 2019". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 16, 2024. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved November 16, 2024. "ESPN – Colorado State Rams Basketball Recruiting 2019". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 16, 2024. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 16, 2024. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 16, 2024.

College career

Colorado State

Tonje was a key contributor off the bench for the Rams during his freshman and sophomore seasons. ^[3] Tonje scored a then career high 31 points in the first game of his junior season against Oral Roberts. ^[4] . Tonje was a key to the success being dubbed the Sixth man that helped lead the Rams to a NIT and getting to the semifinals. ^[5] Tonje bounced back and forth between the bench and starting lineup throughout his junior season. He was a big part of the success of the 2020–21 Colorado State Rams men's basketball team that had a program best 16-1 start to the season. ^[6] Tonje and the Rams qualified for the 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament as an at-large bid for the program's first time since 2013 finishing the season with a 25-6 record. The sixth seeded Rams were upset by the 11th seeded Michigan Wolverines. ^[7] Tonje became a full-time starter for the first time during his senior season. He posted career per game highs in points (14.6), rebounds (4.7), assists (1.3), steals (0.8) and blocks (0.3). Tonje decided to enter the transfer portal after his 4th season due to the extra year of eligibility from to the COVID-19 season rule. ^[8]

Missouri

Tonje decided to transfer to Missouri. ^[9] Tonje only appeared in 8 games with the Tigers due to a season ending foot injury. ^[10] Tonje was granted a medical redshirt and a sixth year of eligibility. He then decided to enter the transfer portal for a second time. ^[11]

Wisconsin

Tonje originally committed to Richard Pitino and New Mexico. ^[12] Less than a week later, Tonje decommitted from New Mexico and committed to Wisconsin. ^[13] In only his fourth career game with the Badgers, Tonje scored a career high 41 points in an upset victory over the 9th ranked Arizona Wildcats. His 41 points were the fourth most in a single game in Badgers history. Tonje also broke the Wisconsin single game record for made free throws with 21. ^{[14] [15]}

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2019–20	Colorado State	31	0	8.4	.461	.435	.677	1.0	0.3	0.2	0.0	3.6
2020–21	Colorado State	28	1	20.2	.389	.313	.857	2.9	0.8	0.4	0.2	6.6
2021–22	Colorado State	30	12	25.3	.461	.364	.821	3.0	0.9	0.4	0.2	9.1
2022–23	Colorado State	33	33	31.3	.473	.389	.815	4.7	1.3	0.8	0.3	14.6
2023–24	Missouri	8	4	9.8	.500	.333	1.000	0.9	0.4	0.3	0.1	2.6
2024–25	Wisconsin	4	4	29.5	.558	.474	.949	5.5	2.0	1.0	0.0	23.5
Career		134	54	21.0	.459	.376	.830	2.9	0.8	0.4	0.2	8.7

^[16]

Personal life

Tonje is the son of Sara and Jean. His father, Jean "Bertin" Tonje, is a native of Cameroon and played soccer for the Cameroon national football team. He has two brothers, Malcolm and Texan. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Colorado State in Business/Real Estate and is currently studying Sports Leadership as a graduate student. ^[17]

References

1. "John Tonje Wisconsin Bio". uwbadgers.com. November 16, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
2. "John Tonje 247 profile". 247sports.com. August 5, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
3. "5 takeaways: David Roddy stars in a resilient comeback effort from Colorado State in the Paradise Jam". thednvr.com. November 20, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
4. "John Tonje, Dischon Thomas stand out in a dominant team performance by the Rams". thednrv.com. November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
5. "Year-in-review: John Tonje shined as Colorado State's sixth man". tdnvr.com. April 12, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
6. "CSU Runs Record to Program Best 15-1 With 73-53 Win At Air Force". csurams.com. January 22, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
7. "Michigan storms back to top Colorado State as March Madness 2022 begins". nypost.com. March 17, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
8. "CSU Basketball updates: John Tonje enters transfer portal, McKenna Hofschild will be back". nypost.com. March 22, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
9. "Summer Sessions: John Tonje". missouri.rivals.com. July 24, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
10. "Mizzou Guard John Tonje to Miss Remainder of Season". si.com. July 16, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
11. "REPORT: John Tonje set to enter the transfer portal". rockmnation.com. April 15, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
12. "Missouri transfer guard John Tonje commits to New Mexico". on3.com. April 25, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
13. "Wisconsin lands commitment from Missouri transfer guard John Tonje". baderswire.usatoday.com. May 2, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
14. "Wisconsin guard John Tonje is wasting no time making his mark at his new school". apnews.com. November 16, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
15. "Where does John Tonje's 41-point game rank in Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball history?". jsonline.com. November 16, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
16. "John Tonje Statistics". ESPN. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
17. "2024–25 Men's Basketball Roster John Tonje" . Retrieved November 16, 2024.

External links

• Wisconsin Badgers bio
• Missouri Tigers bio
• Colorado State Rams bio