Alijah Arenas is hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps, and he will be able to do that at the collegiate level if he so chooses.
Arenas, the son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, just finished his freshman season at Chatsworth Senior High School in California. The 6-foot-4 guard has received scholarship offers from 15 schools and counting. One of them came from the University of Arizona.
6-6 Alijah Arenas #Chatsworth has picked up an offer from Arizona
Class of 2026. pic.twitter.com/Jt35AwvDWc— Compton Magic (@Compton_Magic) June 1, 2023
Gilbert Arenas was a star at Arizona from 1999-2001. He was taken by the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the 2001 NBA Draft. The elder Arenas went on to enjoy a successful career playing for four teams over 11 seasons. He was named an All-Star three straight years when he played for the Washington Wizards during his prime.
Alijah averaged 30.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.4 steals during his freshman season. He told On3’s Jamie Shaw this week that he knows he has big shoes to fill but embraces the challenge.
“I feel like there are some higher expectations for me,” Alijah Arenas said. “But, I’m just going to take that. It gives me the motivation to be better. Everyone here is really good; they don’t care about my name; I got to keep getting better.”
Alijah will not be enrolling in college for three more years, so he has plenty of time to make his decision. If he wants to be a Wildcat like his father, the opportunity is there.
