USC’s newest recruit, Alijah Arenas, has suffered a tear in his meniscus that could sideline him for six to eight months, which could mean that he watches the entire debut season of his NCAA career from the bench, as per NBA Insider Chris Haynes.
The Trojans could decide to redshirt him for the season. But it is unlikely, as the former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas’ son was expected to declare for the draft in 2026, making him a likely candidate for a ‘one and done’ college career.
Arenas is a highly-rated prospect for the NBA. Some sources believe that he could be a potential lottery pick and even a top-five pick in the draft. During his Jr. Varsity season this year, he played 35 games where he averaged 29.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game.
Just weeks after his terrible accident in April 2025, Arenas had committed to USC for his first NCAA season. He was going to, in a way, follow the footsteps of Bronny James into the NBA. While he is much more highly rated than Bronny, they both believed that they did not need to go very far from their homes in California to get the best facilities and chance at improving their game to make it to the league.
Unfortunately, Arenas will now likely sit out most of his rookie season at USC unless he makes a miracle recovery. NBA fans seemingly deemed this as the ‘Arenas Curse’ as his father, Gilbert Arenas, also saw his career be significantly impacted by his knee issues, especially meniscus tears.
Like in 2007, he tore the meniscus on his knee twice in the same season. Fans took to social media, and while most of them sympathized with the young starlet through their prayers, some also let his father bear the brunt of it.
“Really feel for this young man. His wreck, his dad is a f***in idiot, now this.”
“USC Basketball has got to be cursed when it comes to sons of NBA players SMH,” said an NBA fan about Bronny James’ cardiac issue when he was with USC as well.
“Gil’s negative karma is finally hitting.”
“This just s**ks. He’s a guaranteed lottery pick for the 2025 season. We may have another Michael Porter Jr. situation where one of the best scorers in the country completely falls and goes to a good team. That’s the bright side.”
“Wasn’t he in a car crash recently, too? Prayers, man.”
“Gil man.. pls stop talkin about legends.. This started once u started saying Bs.”
Most of the fans are not blaming Gilbert Arenas, but some are making sure to point out the eerie coincidence of timing and type of injury. One key question that is brought up with this injury is how it will affect his draft stock if he doesn’t play a whole season in the NCAA.
Fans pointed out correctly that we may have another Michael Porter Jr. type situation with Arenas, who was a projected top-five pick in the draft but fell to the 14th pick due to his injury situation and joined a contending team with the Nuggets. Therefore, a silver lining here for Arenas could be that his draft stock falls and he joins a strong team in the NBA.
