LOS ANGELES — The future of the USC men’s basketball program could very well be in the hands of three sons of former NBA All-Stars.
Alijah Arenas as well as Adonis Ratliff and Darius Ratliff – who are both freshmen – have secured early spots in the starting rotation, and each played a role in USC’s 95-63 win over Milwaukee in the season opener for both teams on Monday night at the Galen Center.
Arenas finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and two steals for the Trojans, who were ranked No. 21 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll.
Adonis Ratliff scored a team-high 25 points on 70% shooting and pulled down six rebounds, and Darius added 14 points on 50% shooting and had a team-high five blocked shots.
Arenas is the son of Gilbert Arenas, while Darius and Adonis are the twin sons of Theo Ratliff. Head coach Eric Musselman established connections with each of them while he was in the NBA – he coached Arenas while he was with the Golden State Warriors in the 2002-03 season and Ratliff as an assistant for the Atlanta Hawks in 2001-02.
Alijah Arenas told reporters before the game that he’s working on his confidence heading into his sophomore season, which will be his first full season after an injury delayed his start last year.
He appeared free of any inhibitions as he batted a missed shot into the net for USC’s first points of the game and went on to score 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting in the first half.
Darius, a 7-foot center, proved his skill offensively as well as defensively early on. He and 6-11 forward Adonis shot the ball without fear, but it was Darius who set himself apart as a defensive threat in the paint.
His quick release proved lethal from mid-range, and he made a 3-point shot at the 11:39 mark of the first half before hustling down to the other end of the court to block a Milwaukee shot and force the Panthers to call a timeout.
The 3-pointer gave the Trojans a 19-7 advantage, and they were able to inflate the scoring run to 21-2 on a dunk by Jadis Jones with 8:49 left until halftime.
KJ Lewis, a Georgetown transfer, was the first off the bench and was subbed in for Rodney Rice roughly five minutes into the game. He contributed 10 points before getting into foul trouble late in the game.
USC had the game under control, leading the Panthers 46-29 at halftime. Adonis Ratliff went off in the second half, scoring 18 points despite having an opponent guarding him nearly the entire time. He shot 6 for 7 from the field and 4 for 5 from long range.
Jacob Cofie, one of three returners on the team along with Arenas and Rodney Rice, was in the starting lineup but played limited minutes. He spent most of the game at the end of the bench next to athletic training staff.
Musselman improved to 10-1 in season openers with the win. USC is 3-0 in openers under his guidance and next heads into the Caesars Lake Tahoe Classic in Nevada, where the Trojans will face Wichita State on Sunday at 8 p.m.