USC's Alijah Arenas return from injury already features massive scoring game for Gilbert's son

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USC's Alijah Arenas return from injury already features massive scoring game for Gilbert's son originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

It took Alijah Arenas a while to get onto the college basketball floor.

Now that the USC freshman and son of long-time NBA guard Gilbert is there, though, it's clear what all the hype was about.

Arenas played just his fifth college game on Tuesday night, and he shone brightly.

Against Indiana, Arenas dropped 29 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Alijah Arenas GOES OFF for 29 in just his fifth college game pic.twitter.com/kIvqlkIPNo

— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) February 4, 2026

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Wearing No. 0, like his dad (who was called Agent Zero), Alijah was one of the top recruits in his class and is now showing that in the discussions of how special a freshman group this is, he belongs in the conversation, too.

It took a while to get to this point.

Arenas had been involved in a car crash in April that required him to be put into an induced coma due to smoke inhalation.

He then needed surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee, which delayed his return to basketball.

Finally, Arenas returned to practice in December, and he made his debut on Jan. 21.

Alijah Arenas almost died in a car accident and then tore his meniscus all in the last 11 months.

Tonight he led USC to a win scoring 29 points in a battle of two NCAA Tournament bubble teams. His recovery and return is one of the best stories in the sports world right now.

— Connor Morrissette (@C_Morrissette) February 4, 2026

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It appears Arenas is already hitting his stride, and now questions will start to be asked about whether he's putting himself in the conversation for a solid pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, or if he needs another season in college.

Mostly, it's just fun to watch that Arenas worked his way back from tough times to show he's still got the talent everyone believed he had when he first chose to attend USC.

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