Alijah Arenas made his long-awaited debut for Southern California on Wednesday night nine months after suffering injuries in a fiery Tesla Cybertruck crash in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley.
Arenas, who injured in knee in the April crash, and the Trojans fell 74-68 to Northwestern. The freshman who was one of USC’s top recruits had eight points, two rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes. He was 3-of-15 from the floor and failed to convert on six 3-point attempts.
USC fell to 14-5, 3-5 in the Big Ten.
Arenas, the son of former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, returned to practice about a month ago. Gilbert Arenas was at Galen Center for Wednesday night’s game.
“It was great to have him back with the rest of the guys,” coach Eric Musselman said last month following Arenas’ first practice. “He’s got such a great basketball IQ and brings a tremendous amount of energy. It looked like he had been a part of practice for quite some time.”
Arenas was behind the wheel of a Cybertruck when it crashed head-on into a tree in the 7900 block of Corbin Avenue in Winnetka. He was hospitalized for six days and needed surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his knee.
The 6-foot-6 Arenas was a McDonald’s All-American and five-star recruit from Chatsworth High School.
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