USC commit Alijah Arenas has had a difficult few months. What would’ve been his debut season for the Trojans has turned into a recovery period because of his injury. The son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas is set to be out for six to eight months.
After his recent surgery, his mother, Laura Govan, posted a picture on her Instagram story with a heartfelt note on Monday.
“It Always Ends Up Me & U. Hold on tight I got YOU!” Govan captioned her story and tagged Arenas with a red heart and a lock emoji.
Alijah Arenas is a five-star recruit and 2025 McDonald’s All-American. He has the support of USC coach Eric Musselman during his recovery process. Still, the 18-year-old has been through a lot in the last few months.
In April, Alijah crashed his Tesla Cybertruck into a tree early morning. His car caught fire, and he was eventually rescued by some bystanders. He had inhaled a lot of smoke in the 10 minutes that he was trapped inside the Cybertruck because of the doors being jammed.
The 18-year-old had to be put in an induced coma as part of a protocol. Within weeks, he came back home and started his recovery. As a family, it must’ve been a very difficult time for the Arenas. To make matters worse, his father was arrested last week on charges of running an illegal gambling business.
As per The Athletic, Gilbert was released on a $50,000 bond, and his trial date was set for Sept. 23.
Gilbert Arenas talked about how he found out about Alijah’s accident
The hoop world felt shockwaves when Alijah Arenas’ accident was first reported. With a limited context available, fans were worried about his health. However, it was soon revealed that he was going to be alright.
Gilbert Arenas, who has been a pretty hands-on father, had no idea his son had crashed his car. During a conversation with Dan Patrick in May, he said:
“Usually, I wake up at 4:30 and I go through the Tesla app to see if he’s heading home or at the gym. His car is at the gym, so I continue my workout, and my daughter said, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘I’m working out.’ She said, ‘You haven’t heard? Your son just got in an accident.’ ‘At the gym?’ ‘No, he’s at the hospital.”
Gilbert Arenas rushed to the hospital to see his son and found out that there was nothing to be worried about. He also revealed that he later found out his Tesla app had malfunctioned, which led to him being in the dark about his son’s accident.
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