The Muss Bus is officially off and running on the recruiting trail, with USC picking up its first five-star commitment of head coach Eric Musselman’s tenure. Combo guard Alijah Arenas, the No. 7 overall recruit according to the 247 Sports Composite rankings, announced on Thursday he would join the Trojans.
Arenas’s dad, Gilbert, played 12 seasons in the NBA, most notably for the Washington Wizards, where he had three straight seasons averaging over 25 points.
While Gilbert’s game was that of a prototypical point guard, facilitating and hitting from the outside, Alijah’s game is far different from his father’s.
Arenas does have hints of his dad’s play style, including “glue-like hands,” according to 247 Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finklestein. However, Arenas is much more of a shooting guard, rather than a prototypical point guard like Gilbert.
The younger Arenas stands at 6-foot-6 with a lanky 7-foot wingspan and likes to take the ball to the basket using his length and mobility to move through the lane. He does have outside shooting ability and has a very natural shooting motion similar to his dad’s. Arenas can score at all three levels and is starting to gain more explosiveness off the dribble, leaving lots of room for potential scoring growth.
The Chatsworth, California native held 20 offers — including from crosstown rival UCLA — before committing to the Trojans earlier today.
Arenas joins fellow guards Jerry Easter, and Elzie Harrington in USC’s recruiting class, bumping the Trojans recruiting class up to No. 7 nationally for 2025.
There is still time for movement, but as it stands, this would be the best Trojan recruiting class since 2022, when USC brought in three top-100 recruits. The Trojans, if they do secure a top-10 class, would have their third such recruiting corps in the last four cycles.
Musselman has a penchant for streaky recruiting, securing the second-best group in 2022 when he was the head coach at Arkansas but only the No. 59 class the cycle prior.
While this year has been up and down for USC in Musselman’s first year — the Trojans currently sit with a 12-8 record — the Muss Bus is just gassing up, and Arenas could be a key piece of that headed forward.