Maccabi Ashdod's rebuild for a return to the top flight of Israeli basketball took a visible step forward on Tuesday, with two of the club's foreign signings, guard Robert Turner and forward Markis McDuffie, landing in Israel to begin life with their new team, ONE reports.
Turner is not exactly a stranger. The American point guard was one of the standout performers in the National League last season as Ashdod stormed to promotion, and according to ONE he is the only import from that squad being kept on now that the club is back in the Premier League after a six-year absence, sealed with a 3-1 playoff final win over Ironi Nahariya.
"It feels like coming back home," Turner said on arrival, according to the report. "I can't wait for the new beginning."
McDuffie, by contrast, is making his first move to Israeli professional basketball. The 29-year-old, a Wichita State product, arrives with a well-travelled European résumé that has taken in Serie A with Napoli, Serie B with Udine, Türk Telekom in Turkey and spells in France with Dijon and Nancy, most recently averaging 6.1 points a game for Nancy.
"I'm very excited," McDuffie said, per ONE. "I've heard many great things and I'm very satisfied."
His arrival completes Ashdod's foreign contingent for the coming season, with sporting director Nati Cohen telling Sportando that McDuffie "brings experience from top European leagues" and has "delivered energy, athleticism and rebounding" everywhere he has played. He joins Turner, Isaiah Hill, Qudus Wahab and Augustine Rubit as the club's five imports.
Per ONE, both new arrivals will undergo medical examinations on Wednesday before joining their first full training session with the squad that evening. The club has opened Thursday's 7pm session to fans, giving the Ashdod public an early look at the reshaped roster.
Ashdod's first outing with the new-look group is set for a Winner Cup fixture against Hapoel Jerusalem in two weeks, the opening test of a season that will bring Premier League basketball back to the port city.
