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Yeshiva University fans prepare to welcome back Ryan Turell for his first G League game in New York — right after Shabbat
(JTA) — Ryan Turell may be from Los Angeles, but when he returns to New York as a member of an NBA G League team on Feb. 4, the game will represent a homecoming of sorts.
Turell, the former Yeshiva University basketball star who in October became the first known Orthodox player to be drafted into the G League, is returning to New York for the first time this season, as his Motor City Cruise — the Detroit Pistons’ minor league affiliate — take on the Long Island Nets at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
The 6-foot-7 forward has drawn a growing crowd of Jewish fans in Detroit as an openly Orthodox player who wears a kippah on the court. But the Feb. 4 game will be the first opportunity for Y.U. fans to see their former star in action since he graduated.
“I don’t think people realize, there’s so many Y.U. fans that have watched Ryan play for four years at Y.U., and now they’re going to have a chance to see him in a G League uniform in New York,” said Simmy Cohen, a Y.U. superfan who works in marketing.
The game will tip off at 7 p.m. Saturday night, an hour after Shabbat will end. That wasn’t always the plan: Brad Turell, Ryan’s father, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the matchup was originally scheduled for 11 a.m. — which would present a challenge for those who do not travel on Shabbat. He and another observant fan both contacted the Nets about the conflict.
“We just told the Nets, hey, by the way, you have Ryan Turell, it’s his return to New York, a lot of Jews from Long Island and the surrounding area would love to attend, if you made the game after sundown,” Brad Turell said.
Within 24 hours, the game was moved to 7 p.m.
“They got it. They understood it, they didn’t question it, they didn’t say there’s red tape,” Brad Turell said.
Brad Turell, a communications executive at a Los Angeles talent agency, said he and his family have been to seven of Ryan’s games in Detroit, plus the three recent matchups in Los Angeles. He said he “wouldn’t miss” the game in New York.
Cohen, who grew up near the Nets arena on Long Island, also said he will be at the Feb. 4 game. He anticipates that quite a few of his fellow Y.U. Maccabees fans will be there, too.
“I’m predicting that it’s going to be really, really wild,” Cohen said. “And it’s interesting, because he’s playing for the road team. A lot of the fans coming to the game are going to be chanting for him, wearing blonde wigs or wearing his shirts, and screaming for one specific opposing player who’s on the bench more than he’s on the floor. And chanting ‘We want Ryan!’ I’m going to be leading that if no one else will.”
Brad Turell said his son’s return to New York could be “emotional and cathartic” for Y.U. fans — and that some singing may even break out in the stands, as is customary at Maccabees games. (Another aspect of the celebration: Feb. 4 is the day after Turell’s 24th birthday.)
The wigs Cohen referenced are just one way Turell fans have shown their support for the golden-haired prospect: There are Turell-branded shirts — including a special one for the Feb. 4 game that is no longer available — plus branded kippahs, sweatshirts and hats for sale on his website.
Special Ryan Turell shirts being made for the 2/4 game, in case you doubted how big that event is gonna be pic.twitter.com/X58U7TvJNx
— jewboy media (@simmy_cohen) January 23, 2023
Cohen, a self-described “extremely online fan of Jews in sports,” said he started following Turell a few years ago, during the Maccabees’ unlikely 50-game winning streak.
“I was really interested in their success and jumped on the bandwagon when they were winning a billion games in a row and having so much success and kind of taking DIII by surprise,” Cohen said. “And how the Jewish community was rallying behind them, I got into that.”
For Brad Turell, Jewish fans’ embrace of his son has been “the most satisfying aspect of this entire journey,” he said.
“They’re proud that this guy — who wears a yarmulke and proudly represents Yeshiva University and the Jewish people — is getting his shot, and that all the hype that surrounded Ryan in college, which was quite phenomenal, was real,” Brad Turell said. “He is good. The fact is, you can’t play in the G League unless you are really good.”
Ryan Turell wears a kippah when he plays. (Courtesy Motor City Cruise)
Ryan Turell told JTA at a November game in Detroit that he appreciates all of the Jewish fan support. “Jews love basketball. They really do,” he said. “The Jewish community is incredible, them coming out and cheering me on. It really means the world to me. And it’s special, because it’s bigger than basketball.”
Turell has appeared in 27 of the Cruise’s 30 games between the preseason Showcase Cup and regular season this year, playing off the bench. He’s averaging 14.3 minutes during the regular season (out of 48 in each game), with 4.2 points per game.
Turell’s best performance of the regular season was his first: he scored 21 points in less than 18 minutes on Dec. 27.
“He’s the perfect guy to have this happen to,” Cohen said. “He’s just such a mensch, on and off the court. Cheering on his teammates, helping people up when they fall down, things like that.”
But for Cohen, Turell’s appeal transcends his ability to sink three-pointers.
“He’s always talking about and thanking Hashem [God], and he’s talking about being a Jewish hero and a Jewish role model,” Cohen said.
For fans who can’t make it on Feb. 4, the Cruise will be back in Long Island in March — on Purim. Cohen pointed out that the timing of the game, 11 a.m., may be auspicious for those who observe the holiday.
“After you hear megillah and before you have your seudah [the festive Purim afternoon meal], what else are people doing in that in-between time on Purim?” Cohen said. “It could be something that kind of bridges the gap of the day.”
Brad Turell said the timing of the March 7 game is perfect — perhaps even divine.
“If you didn’t think Hashem was looking down upon this situation and helping this out, you look at that and say [Ryan] is going to be in Long Island at 11 a.m. on Purim day. How does that happen?” he said. “A day when all the kids are off school, where everyone’s in a great mood. This is a great family activity, and it’s an 11 a.m. game. It’s just fantastic.”
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Iran Promises ‘Crushing’ Attacks Against the US and Israel
Symbolic mock-ups of Iranian missiles are displayed on a street, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 22, 2026. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran has issued a stark warning of “crushing” retaliatory attacks against the United States and Israel following threats from US President Donald Trump to escalate military operations in the coming weeks.
In a statement aired on Iranian state television, the Khatam al-Anbiya operational command said, “this war will continue until your humiliation, your disgrace, your permanent and certain regret, and your surrender,” framing the conflict as a long-term confrontation and invoking “trust in Almighty God.”
Iranian officials further warned that future operations would be “more crushing, broader, and more destructive,” signaling the potential expansion of the conflict across multiple fronts amid ongoing missile and drone exchanges in the region.
The escalation comes after Trump publicly suggested intensifying strikes on Iran, saying operations would continue until “the job is finished” and claiming significant military gains against Iranian strategic capabilities. As tensions rise, both sides appear to be hardening their positions, increasing fears of a wider regional confrontation.
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Trump Speech Unleashes More Pain on US Consumers with $5 Gasoline, Record Diesel in Sight
US President Donald Trump arrives to award the medal of honor to Master Sgt. Roderick ‘Roddie’ W. Edmonds, Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis, and retired Command Sgt. Maj. Terry P. Richardson during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 March 2026.
US President Donald Trump’s address to the nation on Wednesday, in which he vowed more aggressive strikes on Iran, has put consumers on course for record fuel prices at the pumps just ahead of the country’s peak summer travel season, market experts said.
Americans expected Trump’s speech to outline a plan to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran’s blockade of the global oil conduit has sent oil and fuel prices skyrocketing, pinching consumers’ wallets. But instead, Trump vowed to bomb Iran back into the “Stone Ages” and said the strait would just open “naturally” when the war ends.
The comments sent US crude oil prices surging more than 10 percent on Thursday, and US average retail gasoline prices are now set to climb to between $4.25 and $4.45 a gallon by next week after crossing $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 at the start of this week, said Patrick De Haan.
The pain could worsen. If there is no viable plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the US average price of gasoline will likely cross $5 a gallon and hit record levels within a month, De Haan said.
Wholesale markets had begun moving higher on Thursday, with midmorning increases of 17 cents a gallon in the Great Lakes, Great Plains, Northeast and West Coast markets, and a 19-cent-a gallon hike in the Gulf Coast, said Tom Kloza, chief energy adviser to Gulf Oil on social media.
Meanwhile, diesel prices, less visible to consumers but arguably more impactful as they are directly tied to the cost of making and moving goods, could hit a record high within two weeks, De Haan said.
The national average retail diesel price is set to climb from $5.47 a gallon on Thursday to between $5.80 and over $6 a gallon within the next two weeks, De Haan said. The record US average retail price was $5.83 a gallon in 2022.
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Britain Says 40 Countries Discuss Reopening Strait of Hormuz After Iran Blockade
A map showing the Strait of Hormuz is seen in this illustration taken June 22, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
About 40 countries are discussing joint action to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to stop Iran holding “the global economy hostage,” Britain said on Thursday, after US President Donald Trump said securing the waterway was for others to resolve.
British foreign minister Yvette Cooper said Iran’s “recklessness” in blockading the waterway was “hitting our global economic security” as she chaired the virtual meeting, which included France, Germany, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and India.
“We have seen Iran hijack an international shipping route to hold the global economy hostage,” Cooper said in opening remarks broadcast to the media before the rest of the meeting took place behind closed doors.
The United States did not attend the talks, one official said. The discussions, involving representatives of some 40 countries, took place after Trump said on Wednesday evening that the Strait could open “naturally” and it was the responsibility of countries that rely on the waterway to ensure it was open.
FOCUS ON DIPLOMATIC AND MILITARY OPTIONS
Iran has effectively shut down the key waterway, which carries about a fifth of the world’s total oil consumption, in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes which began in late February. Reopening it has become a priority for governments around the world as energy prices soar.
European countries initially refused Trump’s demand to send their navies to the area because of fears about being dragged into the conflict.
But concerns about the impact of the rising cost of energy on the global economy have prompted them to try to form a coalition to see how they can defend their own interests.
European diplomats said putting the coalition together was at an early stage, with Britain and France leading.
Officials said the discussions on Thursday would focus on which countries were prepared to participate.
France’s Armed Forces spokesperson Guillaume Vernet told a news conference on Thursday that the process would be multi-phased and could not happen until hostilities had calmed or ended.
A key focus of the talks would be how to ensure ship-owners could feel confident enough for vessels to resume traveling through the area and to bring down insurance premiums.
There would also eventually need to be coordination with Iran to ensure that there will be security guarantees for ships, Vernet said, something that is unlikely for now.
Talks had also started on what military assets could be provided, he said.
“We will need to assemble a sufficient number of vessels and have coordination capabilities in the air, at sea, as well as the ability to share intelligence,” he said.
Britain said it would host a meeting of military planners for talks next week.
Trump said on Wednesday evening that other countries that use the Strait of Hormuz should “build up some delayed courage” and “just grab it.”
“Just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves,” he said.
But France’s President Emmanuel Macron speaking in South Korea on Thursday said seizing the Strait militarily was an “unrealistic” option.
“It would take an indefinite amount of time, and it would expose all those who venture through this Strait to coastal risks from the Revolutionary Guards, as well as ballistic missiles,” he said.