30 | DECEMBER 15 • 2022 SPORTS H oward Golding is eminently qual- ified to talk about Ryan Turell the basketball player. “I’ve never met Ryan, but I want him to do well, especially because of all the time he’s put in to get to this stage of his career. I know our Jewish community here is rooting for him, ” said Golding, a 2012 Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation Pillars of Excellence award recipient because of his lengthy and distinguished career as an area basketball coach. Turell, 23, is an Orthodox Jew. The 6-foot-7, 190-pound forward from Yeshiva University plays for the Motor City Cruise, the Detroit Pistons’ NBA G League affiliate. He wears a Pistons yarmulke during games. No Orthodox Jew has ever played in the NBA. Turell is one step away, albeit a huge step. Golding saw Turell play Nov. 27 when the Cruise lost 103-102 to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants at the Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit. Turell played nine minutes that afternoon. He scored two points, had two rebounds and one assist and didn’t commit a turnover. Through his first 11 games with the Cruise, Turell was averaging 2.9 points per game. Also in attendance Nov. 27 were Turell’s parents, Brad and Laurel Turell, who made the trek from California to watch their son play. Golding and Turell’s parents know each other. Here’s how that happened. Greg Bernhardt, who played basketball for Golding at Clinton Middle School in Oak Park in the 1970s, lives in New York City and watched Ryan Turell play often there for Yeshiva, where he averaged a national colle- giate best 27 points per game last season. Bernhardt got to know Ryan Turell’s parents. He connected Brad Turell with Golding, who lives in West Bloomfield. “I told Brad that if Ryan needed anything while he’s here, he can call me anytime, ” Golding said. Golding met Ryan Turell’s parents in per- son at the Nov. 27 game (he knew they were going to be there) and he hoped to meet Ryan. But Ryan was busy after the game signing autographs for fans, many from the Detroit area’s Orthodox community. So what does Golding think of Ryan Turell as a basketball player from watching him play that afternoon? “I think Ryan got some extra playing time in that game because his parents were there, ” Golding said. “He’s a good shooter. His form is decent. He looks comfortable on the floor. He doesn’t look nervous. “He has a high basketball IQ, he’s smart with the ball, and he’s a great team player. I’m sure he’s not used to being on the bench but whenever there was a timeout in the game I saw, he was the first one on the floor giving high-fives to his teammates. You can tell his teammates like him. ” Ryan Turell’s biggest basketball challenges, Golding said, are getting used to the speed of professional basketball and going against many bigger, stronger, more skilled players who have faced much tougher competition than he has. “I’m sure playing in the G League is a real eye opener for Ryan, ” Golding said. “He’ll get stronger, faster and more skilled. I hope they bring him along slowly, nurture him. ” Golding, 78, was a basketball coach in the Detroit area for 28 years, winning 197 games as a high school coach. One of his players at Oak Park High School was Marcus Iverson, who happened to be at the Nov. 27 game. Iverson was the first of eight All-State players coached by Golding. Golding coached Detroit teams in the JCC Maccabi Games for 11 years. His Maccabi teams won a gold medal in 1991, bronze medal in 1995 and silver medal in 1997. Send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com. MARCUS IVERSON Longtime area basketball coach Howard Golding has made a connection with Orthodox Jewish player Ryan Turell’s parents ‘He Can Call Me Anytime’ STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER Brad Turell, Howard Golding, Marcus Iverson and Maci Iverson gather for a photo at a Motor City Cruise basketball game.