It appears like the Duke basketball recruiting squad is getting to know five-star guard Alijah Arenas.
Gilbert Arenas was the leading scorer and star guard for the 2000-01 Arizona team that fell to the Blue Devils in the 2001 national championship game before going on to become a three-time All-Star in his 11-year NBA career. And Arenas’ disparaging remarks on Duke basketball legend Mike Krzyzewski and the program in Durham are too numerous to count.
However, prior to last season’s home defeat to Arizona, Krzyzewski’s replacement, Jon Scheyer, reminded the public that Arizona was one of three finalists in his own prep recruitment over two decades ago.
Plus, Jon Scheyer is not Mike Krzyzewski, and Scheyer was only a kid — coincidentally, at the 2001 Final Four in Minneapolis — when Duke defeated Arenas in his final college game.
To that end, Alijah Arenas, a rising student at Chatsworth High School in California, is not Gilbert Arenas, and April 2001 was around six years before his birth.
Alijah Arenas now ranks fourth overall on the 247Sports 2026 Composite. So, as with other preps of his stature, Scheyer’s staff appears to be interested, according to the 6-foot-5, 190-pound five-star guard, who just confirmed to Pro Insight.
“Kansas, Duke, UCLA, Arizona…those are a few,” Arenas replied when asked which schools are recruiting him.
Interestingly, Duke is the only one of the four he listed who did not feature on his 17-deep offer sheet, according to 247 Sports.
Here are Rivals recruiting analyst Jason Jordan’s takeaways from Arenas’ performance versus other top preps in grassroots play last week:
“The game comes easy to Arenas…Arenas’ ability to get to his spots on the floor and loosen the defense with his stroke is the key to his offensive arsenal. He’s deceptively strong on the drive and has great feel and instincts on the offensive end. Chip off the old block as former NBA star Gilbert Arenas’ son.”
So far, no 2026 recruit has reported a Duke basketball offer. However, the Blue Devils now have a large list of top-tier prospects on their radar.
Alijah Arenas appears to be among those potential full-fledged targets.
