College basketball player strives to become NBA's 1st Orthodox Jewish player

Ryan Turell with his teammates on the basketball court.

(Image credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

published 16 March 2022

Ryan Turell, a 6-foot-7 senior at Yeshiva University and the country's leading college basketball scorer, could soon make NBA history.

Turell, who averages 27.1 points a game and is the top scorer in Yeshiva history, told ESPN that he is forgoing his final year of college eligibility in order to enter the 2022 NBA draft. "My full intention is to play professional basketball next year," he said.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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