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USC might have popped its own NCAA Tournament bubble, and one of the Trojans’ famous fathers is speaking out.
On Sunday, USC dismissed star guard Chad Baker-Mazara from its roster with two games left in the regular season. No reason was given for Baker-Mazara’s dismissal, but the Los Angeles Times reported that it wasn’t a singular incident that led to the decision.
Appearing in 26 games this season, Baker-Mazara averaged 18.5 points per game on 44% shooting, including 38% from 3. It’s the latest twist in what has been a weird and wild season in Los Angeles for head coach Eric Musselman, who has kept the Trojans competitive despite a slew of issues. The team lost star guard Rodney Rice for the season in November due to a right shoulder injury. Top recruit Alijah Arenas, the son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, was injured in a car accident last April and didn’t play until January as he recovered from his injuries.
The Trojans are the fifth program and fourth in Division I the 26-year-old Baker-Mazara has played for after starting his career at Duquesne and transferring to San Diego State, Northwest Florida, and Auburn. He left Saturday’s game against Nebraska after a hard fall and didn’t return to the contest, opting to sit with Rice near fans along the baseline instead of on the Trojans’ bench. Musselman downplayed Baker-Mazara not sitting with the team and said it was due to a shortage of chairs on the team’s bench.
“He said he couldn’t go,” Musselman said when asked about Baker-Mazara’s possible injury.
Musselman’s relationship with Gilbert Arenas—who he coached in the NBA with the Warriors in the early 2000s—played a key role in the Trojans landing Alijah, a five-star recruit. Despite having played in just 11 games this season, the younger Arenas would project as a lottery pick should he declare for the NBA draft.
On Sunday night, Gilbert publicly took issue with the Trojans’ dismissal of his son’s teammate. In a video posted to X, the three-time NBA All-Star said that the two sides should make amends in an attempt to save USC’s season.
“This is what we’re doing?” the 44-year-old Arenas said in the video. “Our best player? Mr. ‘I Get Buckets?’ Every night. He brings it every night. Guaranteed 18, 20 every night. I don’t know who he cussed out. But get over it! He’s right!
“When you the best player on the team, whatever you say, you right,” he continued. “Give him the ball, get the fuck out the way. That’s the offense. Damn. We supposed to be playing in the tournament, man. Now we gotta watch this junior varsity-ass team.”
USC is currently one of the first four teams out of the tournament, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. The team will play its final two regular-season games against Washington and UCLA this week. The Huskies aren’t expected to be a tournament team, while Lunardi currently projects the Bruins to be a No. 9 seed.
A spokesperson for the Trojans did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An athletics spokesperson previously told the AP, “We have nothing additional to add at this time.”
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