Former NBA guard Gilbert Arenas' son, Alijah Arenas, continues to be one of the most impressive young players in the nation. After being selected as a McDonald's All-American, Alijah Arenas appears poised to make waves at the college level when the time comes.
During a special livestream to announce his McDonald's All-American selection, Alijah Arenas joined his dad, Gilbert Arenas and the rest of the Gil's Arena crew on Monday.
During the episode, Alijah spoke about his work ethic and his drive, explaining that the most fun part about basketball is learning. Impressed by his work ethic, former Timberwolves guard Rashad McCants questioned whether he was really Gilbert Arenas' son.
While Gilbert Arenas was an incredibly talented player, his career was largely defined by off-court antics that landed him in trouble on more than one occasion. Because of that, McCants was left impressed by Alijah Arenas' work ethic. In response to McCants' joke about whether Alijah is really his son, Gil jokingly replied:
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"I'm not gonna get the DNA test. I can say that."
"When I learn, all the doors open up," - Gilbert Arenas' son, Alijah Arenas, speaks about his basketball journey
As the son of a former NBA guard, Alijah Arenas' play has caught the eye of fans around the country. Thanks to his play at the high school level and on the AAU circuit, Arenas seems well on his way to following in his father's footsteps.
While some players may love the feeling of posterizing an opponent, hitting a late game-winner, or knocking down a deep=range three, for Alijah, he's having the most fun when he's learning the nuances of the game.
As he explained to the Gil's Arena crew:
"I feel like learning is probably the fun part about basketball because when I learn all the doors open up. So I feel like just me just seeing the best players in the world because that's where I want to go.
"I feel like I really want to learn the game before I get there and then even when I get there it's just more opportunities to learn. I get to watch my own teammates, how they react, how they feel about this, how they feel about that. Who wants to be the first in the gym? Like who am I trying to beat? Like that all comes with it."
Although so far Alijah hasn't given any sort of indication as to where he plans to play NCAA basketball, based on his status as a McDonald's All-American, fans are eagerly awaiting news on where the second-generation hooper may land.