USC Trojans' Alijah Arenas Honors Father Gilbert Arenas With Jersey Number

Alijah Arenas a 6-6, 195 pound guard out of Chatsworth, California. He is rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 1 shooting guard and No. 7 overall player in the class of 2026 per 247Sports Composite rankings. Arenas signed with coach Eric Musselman and the Trojans last month.

Alijah Arenas will be a freshman this upcoming season and will dawn the number his dad Gilbert used to wear, No. 0. 

When Gilbert Arenas was a freshman in college for Arizona in the 1999-2000 season, he averaged 15.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.1 steals per game, earning Pac-10 All-Freshman team honors. He played one more season at Arizona in 2000-2001, averaging almost identical numbers to his freshman season. 

Gilbert was selected No. 31 overall in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Warriors. In his second season in Golden State in 2002-2003, Areans was coached by current USC Trojans coach, Eric Musselman. 

Gilbert Arenas played 11 seasons in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic, and Memphis Grizzlies. Arenas was a three-time all-star, and averaged 20.7 points, 5.3 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game for his career.

Will Alijah be the next great Arenas?

Alijah Arenas Player Profile

There are high expectations for Alijah Arenas. For one, he’s the son of a former multi-time NBA All-Star. Alijah is even taller than his father who was listed at 6-4 in his playing days. Secondly, Alijah is a five-star recruit and will be tasked as being the one of the Trojans go-to options right out of the gate. 

Arenas was evaluated by director of scouting, Adam Finkelstein in October last year. 

“Arenas is a smooth scoring guard with terrific positional size and length…Arenas is a versatile scoring threat. He doesn’t always separate with his first move, but he’s elite with his secondary moves and has a variety of counters in his bag,” Finkelstein said. “He also shoots an easy ball from long-range with soft natural touch.”

Arenas is already 6-6 and is still in the midst of a growth spurt. His long-term potential has a very high ceiling. 

“He’s a bit of a late-bloomer who had continued to grow throughout his high school career and now stands at nearly 6-foot-6 with a massive 7-foot wingspan and 8-foot-9 standing reach,” Finkelstein said. “Physically, he’s still filling out his frame, so while he doesn’t play with ton of natural explosiveness, that could change as he continue to grow into his body.”