Key Highlights
- "TV off" by Kendrick Lamar blared over the speakers as Arenas' name was announced over the PA. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe crowd roared and gave the freshman a long standing ovation moments before he made his collegiate debut for the Trojans, starting in a 74-68 loss to Northwestern on Wednesday, Jan.
- 21.
- And while he had his struggles, most of it was to be expected."When you do this long enough and you inject a super talented player, the results are not so shocking to me," head coach Eric Musselman said postgame.
- "When you put someone in and he goes three-for-15 from the field, that's a lot of shots in his minutes, but he can create his own shot.
- And you know, he should be a high school senior who reclassified, missed an entire summer, and then you're throwing him in the middle of Big Ten play so he doesn't have non-conference play and all that stuff, just based on injury."It's a difficult thing for any super talented player to go through."Arenas scored eight points while shooting just 20% from the floor in 29 minutes, taking on a much bigger role than Musselman originally envisioned after Chad Baker-Mazara fouled out after playing just 13 minutes. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJust a few months ago, this night – just getting on the court – seemed far away for Arenas. In the early morning hours on April 24, 2025, Arenas – son of three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas – was involved in a serious car accident that put him in a medically induced coma.