Yeshiva University basketball star Ryan Turell wants to be the first Orthodox Jewish player in the National Basketball Association, and he has taken the first step toward that goal: entering the NBA draft.
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The 22-year-old Los Angeles native will forgo his final year of college eligibility and enter the 2022 draft this summer, ESPN reported on Tuesday.
“Being the first Orthodox Jew in the NBA would mean the world to me, and a dream come true, God willing,” Turell told ESPN. “But, just as importantly, it would mean the world to others that never saw this as a possibility.”
The 6-foot-7 guard wears a yarmulke when he plays, and said he plans to continue doing so when he plays professionally.
Turell was the leading scorer in the NCAA across all divisions this season, averaging 27.1 points per game. He shot 59% overall, and an impressive 47% from three-point range.
That earned Turell his second consecutive Skyline Conference Player of the Year award and helped him lead the YU Maccabees to a 25-4 record, a second straight conference championship and a No. 1 national DIII ranking.
Yeshiva also extended a multiyear winning streak to 50 games, garnering national attention along the way, including from NBA teams.
“I know NBA teams came to see me,” Turell said. “My coach would tell me after each game, especially toward the end of the season. Quite a few NBA teams came to watch.”
The team was eliminated in the first round of the Division III NCAA tournament earlier this month.
Turell’s chances in the draft are unclear. A total of 60 players are selected in two rounds — considerably fewer than in other professional sports leagues. ESPN currently projects that he will not be drafted.
“My full intention is to play professional basketball next year,” Turell said.
The NBA draft will be held June 23 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
I wish him the best of luck wherever life takes him.
David Kufeld of YU was drafted by Portland many years ago.
We’ve seen what’s happened with Covid rules and Kyle Irving of the Nets.
Will he play on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons?
“Records are made to be broken.” But hey, what if it’s your record?
David Kufeld | Dec 12, 2021
Chaval. Hashem’s chesed in creating the sports industry in America, as a diversion for goyim so they’ll have some empty activities to occupy themselves with rather than beat up yidden, has now become a “dream” for an “Orthodox” Jew. And this is supposed to be a kiddush Hashem, with him wearing a yarmulke while playing. G-d save us…
So here’s a question, a litmus test. If he’s going up for the three-pointer and his yarmulke flies off, will he put it back on, or will he go for the 3-pointer? We all know the answer to that one…
what a colossal chilul hashem. an abomination by any stretch
the YU system is appropo today and on Chanukah with the former reminscent of the people who joined Achashverush and the latter the Hellenists. My rebbe in yeshiva said better to go to a Goyish college 10 times than step in YU once.