"Muss energy is amazing": Alijah Arenas raves about USC’s Eric Musselman as he begins college journey with Trojans 

Alijah Arenas is set to commence his collegiate journey with the USC Trojans next season. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard will attend his first live practice with the team on Friday after recovering from a fatal car accident in April.

The Instagram page of USC Men's Basketball shared a video of Arenas mic'd up in the USC training facility on Wednesday.

"@alijah0arenas is set for his first live practice tomorrow, but he’s been a sideline sponge since the day he arrived. Swipe to hear him mic’d up," the post was captioned.

Arenas talked about coach Eric Musselman's energy and that he needs to "pick up the pace."

"Muss' energy is amazing. It's kind of what we needed. I struggled while talking, so that was kind of my biggest thing. Now I'm looking at other people like I struggle with that and I see how much it helps you. My job is to pick up the pace, help my teammates know what I'm doing," Arenas said.

He also talked about being a part of the team.

"So when I come to practice, after being, you know, three-four weeks out, I need to be already with them or ahead of the game. That's why I feel like being a team is most important because you get to learn off each other and learn your weaknesses and strengths. I'm excited. I can't stop moving. I'm excited to play with my team."

Alijah Arenas, who ranks No. 12 nationally and third in the shooting guard position and California, reclassified from the Class of 2026 to 2025, being one of the few players to maintain his five-star status.

He received offers from plenty of top programs, including the UCLA Bruins, Arizona Wildcats, Alabama Crimson Tide and the Kentucky Wildcats, but decided to commit to USC on Jan. 30.

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Alijah Arenas' mother, Laura Govan, shares wholesome message as son starts his USC career

Alijah Arenas' mother, Laura Govan, shared a post from the USC Men's Basketball Instagram page on her story as her son talked about playing for USC.

Alijah Arenas' mother Laura Govan shares wholesome message as he starts his USC career (Image via Instagram @lauramgovan)

Here's the original post by USC.

"I'm very lucky, you know, not even just to be here, I'm very lucky in just general in life," Alijah Arenas said in the video.

"You know, even where I'm at, USC, you guys are amazing, my coaching staff is amazing, my teammates are amazing. I don't even have any words to express how I feel about my life right now."

Arenas will be joined by Jerry Easter next season.