Alijah Arenas makes long-awaited USC college debut…
LOS ANGELES — With one breathtaking transfer, Alijah Arenas announced that he was back.
Back from the knee injury that had sidelined him since the summer time.
Back from the harrowing Tesla CyberTruck accident that threatened his life.
Back from all the worrying and doubts about whether or not this day would come.
The son of three-time NBA All Star Gilbert Arenas made his college debut on Wednesday evening for USC, and it took just 5½ minutes for him to show why this was such a big deal.
Unleashing a behind-the-back transfer that made one Northwestern defender stumble close to the sideline, Arenas drove toward the basket before acrobatically spinning around another defender for a layup.
The smallish crowd inside the Galen Center roared in appreciation of the five-star prospect from Chatsworth High who’s thought-about by some as a attainable first-round NBA draft choose. His father was watching from a spot along the closest baseline while seated next to former Trojan and Laker guard Nick Young.
Alijah Arenas, son of former NBA great Gilbert Arenas, goes up for a layup during his college debut for USC in a 74-68 home loss to Northwestern on Jan. 21, 2026. AP
Arenas had not performed for the Trojans after injuring his knee in July and returning to follow last month, but his return featured a few spectacular moments during his staff’s 74-68 loss.
The most extremely rated recruit to play for USC coach Eric Musselman since his arrival before last season, Arenas flashed loads of attractive potential, even if he did wrestle with his taking pictures contact while ending with eight factors to go with two rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes.
The 6-foot-6 guard made just three of 15 pictures, lacking all six three-pointers.
“The results are not shocking to me,” Musselman said, alluding to the long layoff. “But he can create his own shot and he should be a high school senior, reclassified, missed an entire summer and then you’re throwing him in the middle of Big Ten play, so he doesn’t have nonconference play and all that stuff just based on injury and it’s a difficult thing for any super talented player to go through.”
After lacking his first three pictures, Arenas acquired on the board with a easy pull-up baseline jumper. He mixed silky strikes with a willingness to draw contact, repeatedly leaning into defenders to power fouls.
“Man, he had some moves out there,” Wildcats coach Chris Collins said of a participant who was not made obtainable to the media after the sport. “The 360-layup was pretty impressive.”
Having announced his return with an Instagram post, Arenas immediately moved into the beginning lineup. He was launched last before the sport, charging onto the court through billowing smoke and raising both arms in acknowledgement of the cheers that serenaded him.
Alijah Arenas dribbles up court during USC loss to Northwestern. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Just taking part in was a major triumph contemplating what occurred last spring.
Arenas made a dramatic escape from a CyberTruck fire in April after the vehicle struck a tree, sending smoke pouring into the entrance of the vehicle. Stricken with panic because an app on his telephone wouldn’t open the doorways, Arenas moved into the back seat. His attempt to break a window also failed.
After pouring the contents of a water bottle onto himself to cool his physique, Arenas remained trapped inside the vehicle for about 10 minutes before finally kicking out a window on the driving force’s aspect. He was pulled from the wreckage by his legs, touchdown face down in a few inches of water left from a damaged fire hydrant before being moved to security.
Miraculously, he sustained no major accidents after spending six days in the hospital and being positioned in a medically induced coma to deal with smoke inhalation.
On Wednesday, his comeback was full.
“The more he plays, the better he’s going to be,” Collins said. “He’s just a really tough cover because of his ability to handle the ball, but at the size he has — 6-6, 6-7 — he is a big-time player and the more he plays, he’s going to just keep getting better.”
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