Alijah Arenas to begin practicing at USC shortly

Alijah Arenas is a player who enters college with a lot of anticipation. The USC freshman has not yet suited up for a practice, but that's only a matter of formality to this point. He will soon enough. Trojan fans collectively sent all goodwill toward Arenas following his earlier can incident. Now, with the start of the 2025-2026 season a couple of months away, it looks like he will be able to start practicing and be in the role that many are expecting to see him in this year.

As reported by the LA Times' Ryan Kartje, Arenas is with the team and on campus, officially as a student-athlete. His first direct involvement in the season preparations is temporarily put on hold as other aspects are finalized, according to the reporter. All signs are indicating that there will not be any further setbacks for Arenas, however.

Coach Eric Musselman has his team looking to develop some early chemistry and begin to learn each player's role in the system that they will use in the late fall. Knowing that a dynamic guard in Arenas will be a part of those plans should invigorate a team and staff, particularly when considering the early skill set that the former five-star recruit showed throughout his high school days.

Big year ahead for USC basketball

Now, ready to make the most of this year's Trojan side, coach Musselman will have an early task of getting this collective to start seeing eye-to-eye as soon as possible. That will often stem from guard play.

Having veterans such as Chad Baker-Mazara and Rodney Rice on the roster should help make the process that much smoother. Arenas then being in this rotation and adding his high-ceiling ability to the backcourt, leaves a lot of room for legitimate optimism that USC will be able to take a notable step forward in their second year in the Big Ten.