USC Trojans' Alijah Arenas Suffers Knee Injury: Season Ending?

NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that Alijah Arenas tore his meniscus, which could put his entire freshman season with the Trojans in jeopardy. 

Haynes added that Arenas is expected to be sidelined for at least 6-8 months.

This isn’t the first setback that Arenas has suffered this offseason since committing to the the Trojans back in January. The five-star recruit and No. 7 overall ranked player in the class of 2025 per 247Sports also was involved in a car crash in April. Arenas was put in a coma due to smoke inhalation, but has since been on track to fully recovery and be full go by the season.

Arenas officially signed with USC in June.

Now, he will have to go through a grueling rehab process with his knee.

Devastating Blow for USC Trojans

This is not the way USC had envisioned the first 15 plus months of the Eric Musselman era going. USC hired Musselman in April of 2024. USC missed the NCAA Tournament in Musselman’s first season in 2024-2025, going 7-13 in the Big Ten and 17-18 overall. 

USC finished tied for 12th place in the Big Ten regular season. They were then eliminated in the second round of the Big Ten tournament.

USC was invited to the inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas. The Trojans won their first round matchup against Tulane Green Wave before being bounced by the Villanova Wildcats in the quarterfinals.