Gilbert Arenas' Son Alijah Announces Decision on USC Future Ahead of NBA Draft Deadline

USC confirmed Tuesday that guard Alijah Arenas is returning to the school for his sophomore season.

The son of three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, he averaged 14.1 points and 2.1 assists with 14 games with the Trojans in 2025-26.

Some of the hype with Arenas in high school centered around his family name, but he was a star in his own right. He was the No. 7 overall player in 247Sports' composite rankings for 2025.

Arenas' college debut was delayed until mid-January as he recovered from injuries he suffered in an April 2025 car crash. Having missed so much valuable practice time, he was always going to be at a disadvantage as a freshman.

If he had stayed in the 2026 NBA draft pool, the 19-year-old almost certainly would've been picked. He wasn't a surefire first-rounder, though, which gave him a compelling reason to stick around in Los Angeles.

Across the board, NIL changes have led more and more underclassmen to conclude college is the best short-term path.

Retaining Arenas is another boost for USC, which is adding three 5-star recruits: power forward Adonis Ratliff, center Darius Ratliff and power forward Christian Collins. Colgate guard Jalen Cox, UConn center Eric Reibe and Georgetown forward KJ Lewis are joining the Trojans through the transfer portal.

Head coach Eric Musselman won't be lacking in talent as he tries to get the program into the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2023.