Jewish Duke Hoopster Heads to Maccabi Tel Aviv

By Forward Staff August 1, 2011

Duke’s Jon Scheyer is coming to Israel in hopes of becoming a basketball superstar.

Thanks to the American player’s Jewish heritage, the newest addition to perennial powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv is immediately eligible for Israeli citizenship, the Associated Press reports.

The 23-year-old former standout from Duke University was not quite up for the competition of the National Basketball Association. But he can join the Tel Aviv team without taking one of the few coveted roster spots allotted for valuable foreign players, the wire service reports.

“It’s good for the league, it’s good for the players and it’s good for the country. Everybody gains,” said league commissioner Avner Koppel.

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