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Five-star USC commit Alijah Arenas, son of Gilbert Arenas, was in New York City for last Tuesday's McDonald's All-American Game at the Barclays Center. He was very busy with promotions and practice, but he had time to sit down for an interview with Trey Phills, along with his dad, Gilbert.
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In that interview, the Chatsworth shooting guard was asked about inheriting traits from his dad's game. Gilbert Arenas, a three-time NBA All-Star who led the Washington Wizards to multiple NBA Playoffs, was known to be a hard worker, working his way from a role player to become an All-Star.
"My dad is the type of dude that has to work out, like he just lives in the gym. I'm trying to build that right now, too. As long as I put in the work, stay humble, keep my head up and then just grind, I feel like I will really just separate myself from everybody else," Alijah Arenas said in the interview.
The younger Arenas has been carrying his team, the Chatsworth Chancellors, on his shoulders the entire season. The team had no notable stars aside from Alijah, but it still was able to get to the final of the CIF City Section Open Division Boys tournament and the CIF Division II State Championships thanks to him.
Alijah Arenas has been drilled by his father, along with his siblings, all of whom play basketball. The eldest, Izela, is a freshman at Louisville, while the youngest, Aloni, is beginning to draw attention in middle school. Finally, the third child, Hamiley, is seen as a rising star high school freshman at Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks).
Alijah Arenas says there is more to life than just basketball
Alijah Arenas had been handing out interviews left and right during the McDonald's All-American Game, and one of them was to ESPN's Myckena Guerrero before the big game began on Tuesday.
"I realize there’s more to life than just basketball and what you can really get out of basketball," he told Guerrero. "My goal is to open a lot of doors (in life) through basketball."
Alijah Arenas was part of the West team, along with the game's co-MVP Darryn Peterson, as well as fellow five-star prospects Brayden Burries, AJ Dybantsa and more. The West defeated the East 105-92, with Alijah having a big performance at the annual high school all-star game with 11 points and two rebounds.
