USC’s Eric Musselman and Alijah Arenas navigate another setback
Basketball has generally taken a rear seat in the first conversations between Eric Musselman and the precious recruit Alijah Arenas.
On the one hand, an adolescent phenomenon sailing in an early jump in college. On another, a male basketball coach of the USC apparently more interested in other aspects of the life of the Arenas, including his mood, when he woke up and how he made sense to the people and the world around him.
So, when the USC coach stood in front of the new Galen Center dynamic dashboard on Friday morning – two days after it was announced that the arenas would miss six to eight months with a knee injury – Musselman found himself stamped, covering the words to encapsulate what the first year meant for him.
“I probably feel closer to him than anyone I have trained in two months since he was on campus,” said Musselman.
The link has already resisted more than most in four years.
The first came the reclassification – Arenas jumped its last year from the high school to reach the USC. Then came the cutting edge in college basketball while preparing spring training. Then, on April 25, Arenas was in a serious car accident which led him to be placed in a coma.
After recovering from his injuries, the arenas were barely two weeks after being medically eliminated to train when he suffered a slight tear of the meniscus and bone bruises.
But even in these 14 days – and only one complete practice with Musselman present – Arenas turned out to be the centerpiece of his coach’s vision for the USC.
“We have built the list around some of the things he could do, and knowing that he could play the one and both, and when he played this one, he would have a lot of length,” said Musselman. “And I told people since the start of the recruitment process what a great smuggler he was.”
At 6 feet 7, Arenas has an average of 30.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game at Catsworth High before landing 13th in the ESPN class in 2025.
In the absence of Arenas, Musselman said he had weighed by adding a 14th player to the list, but would only do it if that “could help us”. The biggest obstacle, added the coach, would be limits to sharing income.
The arenas travel, learn and rehabilitate alongside the USC. And he will continue to shade Musselman in a role that the coach never had to explain to him.
“For some people during the recruitment process, you call them and you can’t wait to pick up, and you call them in a way to try to develop a relationship,” said Musselman. “The reason why Alijah and I are in such a good place is because he won the phone when I called him.
He added: “We already had integrated confidence before his arrival here.”
Etc.
Musselman said on Friday that Terrance Williams II (wrist), which he called “one of the strangest injuries I saw,” will return on August 25 when Trojan horses will refer on the first day of the academic year. … Musselman noted that Jordan Marsh was the team’s “greatest surprise”, while Rodney Rice will take over as the main ball manager of the Trojans.
