USCs Eric Musselman and Alijah Arenas navigate | College News
Basketball normally took a backseat in early conversations between Eric Musselman and prized recruit Alijah Arenas.
On one aspect was a teenage phenom navigating an early soar to faculty. On one other was a USC males’s basketball coach seemingly more in different elements of Arenas’ life, including his temper, when he woke up and how he made sense of the people and the world around him.
So when USC’s coach stood in entrance of the Galen Center’s vibrant new scoreboard Friday morning — two days after it was introduced that Arenas would miss six to eight months with a knee harm — Musselman discovered himself stammering, stitching collectively the phrases to encapsulate what the freshman meant to him.
“I probably feel closer to him than anybody that I’ve coached in a two-month span since he’s been on campus,” Musselman mentioned.
The bond has already weathered more than most would in 4 years.
First got here the reclassification — Arenas skipped his senior yr of high college to be part of USC. Then got here the frenzy course into collegiate basketball as he ready spring observe. Then, on April 25, Arenas was in a critical car crash that led to him being positioned into a coma.
After recovering from his accidents, Arenas was barely two weeks back from being medically cleared to observe when he sustained a slight meniscus tear and bone bruise.
But even in those 14 days — and just one full observe with Musselman current — Arenas proved enough to be the centerpiece of his coach’s imaginative and prescient for USC.
“We built the roster around some of the stuff that he could do, and knowing that he could play the one and the two, and when he played the one, would have great length,” Musselman mentioned. “And I told people from the beginning of the recruiting process what a great passer he was.”
At 6 toes 7, Arenas averaged 30.9 factors and 7.8 rebounds per recreation at Chatsworth High before touchdown thirteenth in ESPN’s Class of 2025.
In Arenas’ absence, Musselman mentioned he has weighed including a 14th participant to the roster, but would do so only if it “could help us.” The greater hurdle, the coach added, can be revenue-sharing limits.
Arenas will still be touring, studying and rehabbing alongside USC. And he’ll proceed to shadow Musselman in a position the coach never had to clarify to him.
“To some people during the recruiting process, you call them and you can’t wait to get off the phone, and you’re just kind of calling them to try to develop a relationship,” Musselman mentioned. “The reason that Alijah and I are in such a good spot is because he picked up the phone when I called him.
He added: “We already had a built-in trust before he got here.”
Etc.
Musselman mentioned Friday that Terrance Williams II (wrist), whose harm he referred to as “one of the weirdest injuries I’ve seen,” will return Aug. 25 when the Trojans report for observe on the first day of the educational yr. … Musselman famous that Jordan Marsh has been the staff’s “biggest surprise” of the summer season, while Rodney Rice will take over as the Trojans’ major ball handler.
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