Avand Dorian’s journey from Armenian school to USC basketball

Sports history is being made in the Armenian diaspora. Avand Dorian became the first Armenian school graduate this fall to join an NCAA Division I basketball team.

From the age of three, Dorian attended AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School in Los Angeles, California. The 6-foot-3 guard has since earned a walk-on spot on the USC Trojans men’s basketball squad for the 2024-25 season.

For Dorian, his basketball journey coincided with his Armenian schooling.

“I was introduced to basketball the same way all the little Armenian kids in LA are introduced to basketball, with Homenetmen basketball and with my older cousins. A ball has been in my hands since I was two or three years old, whether it was a soccer ball or a basketball,” Dorian told the Weekly.

At home, Dorian’s love for basketball grew. Whether it was Kobe Bryant or LeBron James, Dorian grew up watching the greats of basketball lead his favorite team, the Los Angeles Lakers, to championships. Dorian also had the chance to witness Kobe Bryant play in-person before his passing in 2020.

“My dad had season tickets back in the day when the Lakers weren’t as good, when Kobe was getting older. Those were my most vivid memories, going with my dad,” Dorian said.

As Dorian’s connection to basketball grew, so did his skills. Once high school arrived, Dorian joined AGBU’s varsity squad alongside his lifelong friends.

“I was honestly so lucky, because I have been going to AGBU since I was a little kid. It was my first school and my last school. The amazing thing about it is that almost our whole basketball team was also there with me in preschool. I could go and pull up those pictures when we were little kids and find our whole team there. Part of the reason why we were so good is because of that chemistry we had, and we were basically brothers at that point,” Dorian explained.

Dorian undoubtedly left his mark on AGBU. Avand earned three league MVP’s and two league championships and was named to three All-CIF First Teams and to one California State First Team, to name a few. In his senior year, Dorian led AGBU to a 20-4 record averaging 23.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists.

In his senior year, “We had a big run in the division II playoffs where ABGU doesn’t belong. I think the rules of CIF changed, because it’s based on school size now, and our school is such a small school. We were going against teams like Pasadena High School and pulling off upsets. We had more fans at their gym then they had fans in their own gym,” he said.

Dorian’s high school success is not just credited to his skillset and team chemistry. Head Coach Nareg Kopooshian led the AGBU boys varsity basketball squad throughout Dorian’s entire time on the team, helping land the Titans on the California basketball map.

“Coach Nareg is a friend, a big brother and a role model to all of us. There were always talks about him maybe coming and coaching us for high school, and we always wanted that to happen. He would coach us under his AAU team called ‘Rebels,’ which was just a bunch of Armenian kids from all these different Armenian schools combined. From there, a year before high school, he came over to ABGU, and that created so much more hype and happiness for me and comfort going into high school basketball,” Dorian said.

Coach Nareg joined AGBU in 2018 and took an unranked team in CIF-SS division 5 to division 2. AGBU is an Armenian private school with a high school student body barely above 200. This feat is unprecedented considering other schools in division 2 have thousands of students.

“Honestly, if you put together the same team with the same group of players, we would be nowhere near where we were without Coach Nareg. Coach Nareg, in my opinion, is a College DI level coach, and he’s a wizard of the game,” Dorian said.

Dorian’s talent stood out among the rest of Southern California. His senior year ended with a call-up to the Armenia men’s national basketball team. He had his international debut against France during a pair of friendlies hosted in Los Angeles during the summer of 2023.

“When I checked in I was so excited for the opportunity to show myself, because this is basically my home crowd. I live five minutes from Cal State Northridge, and the San Fernando Valley is my home. I swear I said this to everyone — when I shot that three, I couldn’t see anything. I was so nervous, and it was based on pure instinct. When it went in, I was so excited in my mind, but I knew we weren’t winning the game,” Dorian said.

Dorian’s skills on the hardwood are rivaled by his skills in the classroom. Dorian ended his high school tenure with a 4.7 cumulative GPA, earning him a spot at the USC Marshall School of Business.

“I am a school-first person. If my grades aren’t doing good, then basketball comes second. Right now at USC I’m on the Dean’s List, which means I have above a 3.5 GPA at one of the hardest business schools in the country, so I’m very proud of myself, and it’s not getting any easier with the practice schedule and traveling that’s coming up,” Dorian said.

The Armenian guard is gearing up for his first season with the Trojans, but in class, Dorian is juggling the obligations of his sophomore year. Dorian did not compete in college basketball in his first year, but that wasn’t due to a lack of credentials.

“I went to a bunch of Ivy League basketball camps based on invitation, like Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Cal Tech, Stanford basketball. MIT and CalTech were willing to get me on the team, but DIII schools do not give scholarships. So I had to get into the school first. However, I wanted to do business, and I wasn’t interested in tech. So I decided to pivot, apply to USC and take the walk-on route,” he said.

But USC’s basketball program was going through major changes. Head Coach Andy Enfield, his staff and the majority of the team did not return for the 2024-25 season.

“Enfield leaves, and I was like oh no, I have to go through this process again. Should I even do it anymore? I was promised a spot on the team, and now the whole staff is gone, the whole team is gone, and everything is different. So I took a shot towards doing it again, and it was honestly better the second time. Coach Musselman has been amazing. Coach Lee has been amazing. The whole coaching staff has been amazing,” Dorian said.

USC will now be led by Head Coach Eric Musselman who has held coaching roles in DI hoops and the NBA since the late 1980s. Avand has already made a lasting impression on the coach, who’s willing to help make his dream of representing Armenia possible.

“Coach Musselman is so positive about me being on the national team and is letting me go constantly. He gave me the green light to leave [for FIBA U20 EuroBasket 2024], but it was the first week of practice, so I didn’t want to just leave. I was already leaving halfway through practice to catch the Armenia national team practices for the games against Ireland and Guatemala. I didn’t want to half-bake the cookie,” Dorian explained.

Dorian was called back up to the Armenian national team in 2024 for the Los Angeles International Basketball Cup. Alongside him, earning his first international call-up, was AGBU Titans head coach Nareg Kopooshian. This call-up was music to Avand’s ears.

“After that one year of experience and getting to know all the guys a lot better, I was excited going in. My excitement was exponentially multiplied when I heard Coach Nareg was going to be there. I knew he deserved it. The fact that he was going to be there got me so excited knowing that I’ll have one of the guys that I’ve been with for so long, that’s seen my body of work and knows what I could do,” he said.

Dorian is a proud Armenian. He wants to put his best foot forward for his people whether it’s on or off the court. He also loves introducing his culture to people. He plans to have Coach Musselman try nazook and host an Armenian heritage night at the USC Galen Center. A great night for it would be December 18, when USC will play Cal State Northridge. That’s because CSUN’s newest guard Greg Gazarian joined their squad this season. Dorian has been in contact with Gazarian and can’t wait to share the court with a fellow Armenian.

“What he’s been doing has been great, and I think what the both of us have been doing is great for the community and showing little Armenian kids that you can honestly do anything. Obviously he is very talented, and we talked about the matchups on the calendar, and we can’t wait to see each other on the court at the same time,” Dorian said.

For Gazarian and Dorian, the idea of Armenians in DI basketball was unheard of early on. Now, with the likes of Connor Essegian of Nebraska and Evan Manjikian at UCLA, Armenians’ influence in basketball is growing.

“I’ve been at an Armenian school my whole life, and when I would dream of basketball as a kid, I never even considered the NBA. It was crazy. Whenever you ask a little kid what’s their dream, it’s always the NBA. That was never my dream, because I always was like ‘I’m Armenian, I need to be realistic.’ I’m just so grateful that I’m playing DI basketball, and I just hope these little kids can make those dreams a reality and just go full force at it,” Dorian said.

Dorian is ready to take on any role for Coach Musselman and the Trojans. With USC’s first game set for tip-off on November 4 against Chattanooga, Dorian says preparations have been amazing. From New York to Hawaii, USC will have a travel-filled schedule. Whether in the Pacific islands or the Midwest, Dorian says he wants to be a positive role model.

“To whoever is reading this, I’m so grateful to have this opportunity, and I’m not taking it for granted. I’m trying to make the most of it, and I hope I’m making every Armenian in the world proud,” Dorian said.