Gilbert Arenas' ex Laura Govan drops 3-word reaction as USC officially welcomes Alijah Arenas to the Trojans family

Gilbert Arenas’ ex, Laura Govan, was full of belief as she expressed her excitement after USC welcomed Alijah Arenas on social media. The five-star guard and son of former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas committed to play college basketball with the USC Trojans. On Friday, the program shared a post on Instagram celebrating Arenas.

Govan shared the post, which featured Alijah Arenas wearing the USC Trojans uniform, standing on the court with “SIGNED” boldly written behind him. The school’s colors and the caption “The Place To Be” reflected the excitement of welcoming a player of his projected pedigree.

“It is TIME,” Govan wrote.

Gilbert Arenas' ex Laura Govan drops 3-word reaction as USC officially welcomes Alijah Arenas to the Trojans family - Image source: Instagram/lauramgovan

Arenas was born in Oakland and raised in Woodland Hills, California, and made national headlines for his standout performances at Chatsworth High School. Midway through his junior year, Arenas reclassified from the class of 2026 to 2025.

Arenas remained a consensus five-star recruit and was selected to participate in the 2025 McDonald’s All-American Boys Game. Alijah committed to USC over other programs like Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky and Louisville.

Alijah Arenas' path was not without adversity. On April 24, he was involved in a serious car accident when his Tesla Cybertruck crashed into a tree and caught fire.

Emergency responders found an 18-year-old male, later confirmed to be Alijah, outside the vehicle and rushed him to the hospital. He was placed in an induced coma, but thankfully, initial tests revealed no broken bones, and he began to recover.

Eric Musselman expresses excitement at Alijah Arenas’ signing with the USC Trojans

The USC Trojans secured the commitment of one of the most highly rated prospects in the country, as five-star guard Alijah Arenas officially signed with the Trojans for the 2025-26 season. Coach Eric Musselman announced on Friday, expressing both excitement and pride in welcoming the standout into the Trojan family.

“We are excited to welcome Alijah to our Trojan family,” Musselman said. “Alijah will be a huge addition not just to our basketball program but to our USC community. He’s our first McDonald’s All-American here at USC and the sixth I’ve coached in my career. "It’s also special because Alijah will be the first second-generation player I’ve had the pleasure to coach, having worked with his father, Gilbert Arenas, during my time with the Golden State Warriors.”

A 2025 McDonald’s All-American, Arenas was named the Cal-Hi Sports Division 2 Player of the Year after leading Chatsworth to back-to-back regional championships.

His dominance also earned him multiple individual honors, including the LA Daily News All-Area Player of the Year, the John R. Wooden High School Player of the Year Award and two consecutive West Valley League Player of the Year titles.

“Alijah has an extremely impressive skill set that will have an instant impact on our USC basketball program,” Musselman said. “He will play a huge part in turning the Galen Center into an exciting homecourt atmosphere. Our coaching staff is beyond excited to get to work with him.”

Over just three high school seasons, Arenas scored an impressive 3,002 points, making him the all-time leading scorer in CIF LA City Section history and ranked 14th in California high school basketball history.

Arenas became the second freshman to sign with the Trojans for the upcoming season, and his commitment signaled a new era of excitement for USC basketball.

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Edited by Victor R. Lopez M.