Alijah Arenas shares how car accident helped him bond with teammates

Alijah Arenas went through an incredibly scary moment, getting in a car accident this offseason. His vehicle burst into flames but thankfully, Arenas was able to come out okay. A trip to the hospital was required — however, before too long, he was back home.

Now, the goal is to prepare for the 2025-2026 season at USC. Part of the process is getting comfortable around your teammates. Arenas admitted the car accident has helped him bond with his teammates, allowing some open dialogue about what happened in the moment.

“The whole team knows now,” Arenas said. “My teammates were kind of shy about asking it but I was so open with them. I want to be open with my teammates about everything. They know everything I had going on. I’m here for them about anything they got going on. That was kind of like the first step of breaking my comfort zone and then opening myself up to my team.

“So that was the first thing I told everybody because they ask me like ‘Hey, are you okay? I heard about this, this, and that?’ They checked up on me as soon as I got here and that was the first thing I had to do, was just let my guard down and explain to them I’m here, I’m ready to move forward and that I’m ready to work.”

Arenas played high school basketball at Chatsworth (CA), where he was a Five-Star Plus+ prospect. He was the No. 12 overall recruit in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

On3’s James Fletcher is quite high on the NBA future of Arenas. In his recent way-too-early 2026 NBA Mock Draft, Arenas comes in as the No. 6 overall prospect. Four players who will also play college basketball and an international prospect are ranked ahead of the USC product.

For now, no word has been released on whether or not Arenas has been cleared for basketball activities. USC has an important season ahead under head coach Eric Musselman, looking to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his tenure. If the Trojans are going to accomplish their goal, Arenas figures to be an important figure.

Either way, everyone is going to be rooting for Arenas. Certainly a scary moment he plans to fight through in the coming months.