Alijah Arenas is making progress after car crash. © Pamela Smith-Imagn Images

USC Reacts to Alijah Arenas' Joke About UCLA After He Was Fresh out of a Coma

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Lorenzo J. Reyna | Last updated Jun 27, 2025 3:02 PM ET

Alijah Arenas kept his sense of humor during a scary moment in his life. Which sparked a USC reaction.

Arenas got involved in a Tesla car accident that left him in a coma. He's since broken his silence about the ordeal as he prepares for his true freshman campaign.

But the prized five-star freshman slipped in a joke involving UCLA -- prompting a humorous "not right now" response from his NBA father Gilbert Arenas.

The past league All-Star spoke to The Dan Patrick Show Friday about the aftermath of his son's survival of the April crash. That's when Arenas shared that the son sent a humorous "apology" to his head coach Eric Musselman.

"His sense of humor was still there when he was waking up and he asked where he's in. He was told the UCLA hospital," Arenas began. "He wrote 'Tell 'Muss I'm sorry for being at UCLA.' And I'm like 'not right now. Not with the jokes right now.'"

USC took it lightheartedly. The X (formerly Twitter) account posted this reaction after the Arenas/Patrick clip went viral.

"Alijah Arenas is a true Trojan already," the account posted with a laughing face emoji and the "Fight On" peace sign.

This isn't the first time the true freshman's UCLA dig surfaced publicly. Arenas took a jab at his future college rival back on May 7. That was when he woke up from his coma. He's expected to be fully healthy for the upcoming season.

Arenas was described as a "super unique talent" by his future head coach Eric Musselman via 247Sports. He's expected to provide a new scoring presence for the 2025-26 Trojans.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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