NOVEMBER 17 • 2022 | 37

the city. 
“To me, it leads into a larger narrative 
of Shabbat observance in the city,” Pinson 
said. “There’s a growing group that 
observes the Sabbath and want to make 
sure the community can be as welcoming 
and participatory for others to observe it 
as well. 
 “We had 15 people for minyan this past 
Shabbat,” he said. “Ryan would always be 
welcome, and we’re glad to be a resource 
as well for anything he may ever need.” 

EXCITED TO BE HERE
Turell shared his perspective: “I’m a 
big believer that everything happens 
for a reason. I was out for four or five 
months with a broken foot, but then 
my agent received a call from the 
Pistons organization and the Motor City 
Cruise. They said they were 
interested. The feeling was 
definitely mutual. My agent 
and I felt like this was the 
best situation and the best 
spot. And I’m really excited 
to be here.”
Arn Tellem, vice chairman 
of the Detroit Pistons, knew of Turell 
for a year or so. He’s pleased that this 
is where Ryan wants to be to start his 
professional career. “He has a lot of 
skill, he has a great attitude, and is an 
upstanding person,” Tellem told the JN.
Turell has also had positive first 
impressions. “Everybody has been super 
nice. Everybody is very kind and wants 
you to succeed. And, you know, it’s a very 
professional organization and the city is a 
really cool city to be in.
“
Arn has been very supportive,” he 
continued, “making sure I’m comfortable 
and, as a fellow Jew, making sure I feel 
welcome.”
As the National Basketball Association’s 
official minor league basketball 
organization, the G League provides a 
chance for prospects to advance their 
career in NBA. 
“You understand that this is a process,” 
Turell said, “and this is something 
that could take longer or shorter than 
expected, you never know. You just have 

to take it one day at a time and keep 
improving yourself.”
He credits a wide array of people for 
their impact on his life. “I think it’d be 
all of my coaches, my mom, my dad, my 
teammates — everybody who has been 
involved along the way. 
“
And everyone I’m still interacting 
with has a role. Whether that be a guy I 
met one time who told me to come off a 
screen this way or a coach that I played 
with for three years. I just try to be a 
sponge and learn from as many people as 
I can.”

ON THE COURT
Turell, a native of Los Angeles, is residing 
close to the Wayne State’s new 3,000-seat, 
$28.3 million basketball arena, where the 
Cruise play, to be within walking distance 
for games that occur on Shabbat. While 

growing up playing AAU Basketball, he’s 
dealt with issues of basketball schedules 
that fall over Shabbat on countless 
occasions.
“I would stay at hotels as close to the 
gym as possible,” he said. “Sometimes it 
would be up to three miles so that I could 
walk to the gym. My teammates and 
coaches always supported me through it. 
It’s something I’m used to and ready for 
and will be doable in Detroit as well.”
Ryan’s father, Brad Turell, told the 
Forward that the team arrived to play the 
Cruise’s first game in Cleveland on Friday, 
Nov. 4, well before sunset and stayed a 
15-minute walk from the arena. After the 
game, Ryan walked back to the hotel. He 
stayed behind when the team returned to 
Detroit the next morning, and the Cruise 
arranged for Turell to be driven back to 
Detroit when Shabbat ended. The Cruise 

Arn Tellem

continued on page 38

Turell practices 
with the team.