On Thursday afternoon, Eric Musselman found out the future of his USC basketball program was going to drastically change \u2013 at the same time as thousands of viewers on YouTube. They do things differently on \u201cGil\u2019s Arena,\u201d as host Josiah Johnson said, a podcast run by former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas. And on Thursday, as Gilbert brought son Alijah Arenas out to announce a monumental collegiate decision, the five-star Chatsworth High senior pulled out his phone to FaceTime the coach of his future program.<\/p>\n
He rung Musselman, in the midst of USC\u2019s head coach\u2019s preparation for Thursday\u2019s practice, and delivered the news: He was committing to USC. \u201cWHAT!?\u201d Musselman shouted, predictably sparing not one drop of energy. \u201cLet\u2019s go! Are you serious? Let\u2019s go!\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a worthy reaction, as Musselman and USC\u2019s staff have spent a series of long months since April trying to gain a foothold with a slew of local talent. And after the Trojans landed St. John Bosco guard Elzie Harrington at the end of December, Musselman\u2019s rebuild is suddenly on the fast-track with Arenas\u2019 pledge, a 6-foot-6 standout guard who\u2019s lit up Los Angeles City Section basketball for years.<\/p>\n
To be successful at USC, Musselman has said publicly, his staff needed to recruit L.A. The second day they arrived in Los Angeles from Arkansas, they called Harrington, who committed to Harvard in June before flipping to USC in December with a desire to remain closer to home. And as soon as the NCAA\u2019s permissible period for programs to contact high school sophomores began in June, USC was there at Chatsworth the \u201cfirst available day\u201d they could reach out, as Chatsworth coach Sam Harris recalled.<\/p>\n
Musselman, Arenas\u2019 trainer Zach Becerra said, would call Arenas at random times on random days, their conversation dipping well beyond basketball. One day, Becerra remembered, Arenas was on the phone with Musselman for an hour talking about his dogs and training them. \u201cMusselman,\u201d Becerra said, \u201chas been all over him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arenas, too, was present for USC\u2019s clash with UCLA on Monday night. The Trojans lost 82-76 to the Bruins on their home floor at Galen Center, but they won the battle for a prized local recruit, with Musselman commenting postgame that he hoped anyone in attendance would note how hard his program was competing in Year One under his regime.<\/p>\n
There is little tangible foundation for Musselman to sell to recruits, at the moment, beyond a group that simply competes and his own track record. USC sits at 12-8 and in the middle of the Big Ten pack at 4-5; most key players from this year\u2019s transfer-heavy roster will be gone come 2025-26. But Musselman had a natural tie to Arenas, coaching father Gilbert in 2002-03 while the head coach of the NBA\u2019s Golden State Warriors. And the 6-foot-6 Arenas fits snugly with Musselman\u2019s love for versatility, a wing capable of playing or guarding one-through-five, as Harris described.<\/p>\n
And Musselman, in part, sold Arenas on his track record of developing one-and-done guard talent for the NBA, Becerra said. There was Moses Moody at Arkansas in 2020-21, and Anthony Black and Nick Smith Jr. in 2022-23. \u201cMusselman has a great history of five-star guys going there and playing high-level minutes as freshmen, being able to have the freedom to play through mistakes,\u201d Becerra said.<\/p>\n
Arenas chose USC over an expressed final five of Kentucky, Arizona, Louisville, and Kansas, all programs that can tout either more successful seasons or a longer national track record of success. But he\u2019d done the same thing, in many ways, in high school, as Harris said: Arenas has spent three years at a City Section program in Chatsworth, eschewing an easy opportunity to transfer to a high-profile Southern Section program or prep school. \u201cI think it\u2019s kind of his personality to just, not essentially join forces but to like, make his name,\u201d Harris said of Arenas. \u201cAnd be a part of something that\u2019s out of the norm, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
* What is the significance of USC landing Alijah Arenas?
\n\t+ USC has landed a top recruit in the class of 2025, a 5-star guard from Chatsworth High School.
\n* What is the background of Alijah Arenas?
\n\t+ Arenas is a 6-foot-6 standout guard who has lit up Los Angeles City Section basketball for years.
\n* What is the significance of Eric Musselman’s track record in developing one-and-done guard talent for the NBA?
\n\t+ Musselman has a history of developing five-star guards who go on to play high-level minutes as freshmen and have the freedom to play through mistakes.
\n* What is the future of USC’s basketball program with Arenas on board?
\n\t+ USC’s program is solidifying, with a potential one-and-done recruit and a top-ranked class of 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How USC Landed Chatsworth 5-Star Guard Alijah Arenas A Monumental Decision On Thursday afternoon, Eric Musselman found out the future of his USC basketball program was going to drastically change \u2013 at the same time as thousands of viewers on YouTube. They do things differently on \u201cGil\u2019s Arena,\u201d as host Josiah Johnson said, a podcast […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dailynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/LDN-L-PREP-STATE-BDIV4-0310-KB24-1.jpg?w=1024&h=685&w=1024&resize=1024,685&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6329"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6329"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6331,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6329\/revisions\/6331"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}