USC basketball appeared set to lose prized five-star freshman Alijah Arenas to the NBA Draft. Father Gilbert teased his son’s potential Trojans return back on March 15, however. Now the son made it official: He’s running it back.
Arenas officially withdrew his name from the list of prospects, first reported by Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times.
The son of the past NBA All-Star averaged 14.1 points per game during his CBB debut. He also delivered four 20-point outings including lighting up Indiana for 29 on Feb. 3.
But his freshman debut hit an early obstacle. Arenas became hospitalized and went into a coma following a serious car accident in May 2025. He lost control of the Tesla Cybertruck he was driving and crashed into a tree/fire hydrant at around 4:55 a.m. PT of that May morning. Arenas fell into an induced coma after inhaling a lot of smoke as the car caught fire.
Arenas became cleared for practices at USC in July of 2025. The Trojans immediately welcomed back their prized five-star signing and local find out of Chatsworth High. Head coach Eric Musselman landed a McDonald’s All-American too in reeling in Arenas.
Now Arenas will join a 2026-27 team looking restacked via the College Basketball Transfer Portal and recruiting.
Jalen Cox comes via the former, arriving to Downtown LA after averaging 17.9 points per game at Colgate. Arenas can also team with another past McDonald’s All-American in former UConn signing Eric Reibe.
The Trojans look ready to reignite Top 25 chatter ahead of the ’26-27 season. But USC must avoid a repeat of last season’s collapse that saw the Trojans lose eight straight.
USC basketball appeared set to lose prized five-star freshman Alijah Arenas to the NBA Draft. Father Gilbert teased his son’s potential Trojans return back on March 15, however. Now the son made it official: He’s running it back. Arenas officially withdrew his name from the list of prospects, first reported by Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times.