The Wildcats could have 2 sons of NBA players on next year’s team?
Arizona men’s basketball’s 2025 recruiting class already features a 5-star prospect and the son of a future NBA Hall of Famer.
Next in line? It could be a player who is both a 5-star recruit and the son of one of the best guards to ever play at Arizona.
Alijah Arenas, one of the top-ranked juniors in the country, is preparing to reclassify as a senior, which would make him part of the 2025 class. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard told 247Sports that he is waiting on the necessary paperwork to be submitted.
“My family and I made the decision when it got to my junior year,” Arenas told 247’s Brandon Jenkins. “We saw the options and wanted to take the big step of looking towards college. I am trying to get there and to the league early.”
Arenas, the son of Arizona great Gilbert Arenas, is considering his dad’s alma mater as well as Kentucky and USC. Arenas plays for Chatsworth High School in California.
He is currently ranked as the No. 5 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class, and should he reclassify, he should “undoubtedly be ranked as the No. 1 shooting guard in the national senior class,” Jenkins writes.
Arenas told 247 he expects to announce his decision in March or April. He took an unofficial visit to Arizona for the Wildcats’ game against Duke in November; also at that game Bryce James, son of LeBron, who committed to Arizona Wednesday.
“I got to see how the environment is,” Arenas told 247. “Their school is amazing. The environment and intensity was crazy high. They are like family and show a lot of love over there. I vibe with everybody on the staff. My dad went there but he is open to me going anywhere.”
Landing Arenas would be the biggest recruiting coup yet for Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd. The 17-year-old is considered one of the elite scorers for his age. He averaged 22 points at the Adidas 3SSB in July, according to ESPN, where he shot 46 percent from 3-point range.
Arenas would add to a class that features top-20 small forward Dwayne Aristode.
The Wildcats are also in the running for 5-star in-state power forward Koa Peat and 5-star combo guard Brayden Berries. If Arizona can land at least two of the three between Arenas, Berries and Peat, it would make for one of the top recruiting classes in program history.
Arenas, as a legacy recruit with significant name recognition, would arguably carry the most weight.