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OK, sports fans. Here’s what we know about Florida State point-guard Delvon Arrington:
He’s got Denzel Washington’s good looks. He’s as smart as a whip and growing smarter every day. And yeah, he happens to make the now-you-see-it/now-you-don’t blind pass better than anyone not named Ed Cota.
So how come this 5-11 senior is the best ACC playmaker no one’s ever heard of?
“I blame you guys,” FSU coach Steve Robinson tells a tableful of sports reporters. “The media, the writers. You haven’t discovered him yet. You haven’t written a whole lot about him. I’ve seen him play. I know what he can do.”
Perhaps the reason Arrington has toiled in anomynity is because he plays for Florida State. Not exactly a storied program. Three Sweet 16 appearances since 1972. Token national TV exposure. Only a handful of alumni currently cashing checks in the NBA (Charlie Ward, Sam Cassell, Bob Sura).
And Tallahassee — that’s a long, long drumbeat from Tobacco Road. “I know, I know,” Arrington says. “I understand that. Maybe if I played at Carolina or Duke, more people would know my name. But this is where I fit.”
It is where Arrington plans to pump up the volume this winter. He begins the season with 363 career assists, second only to Southern Cal’s Brandon Granville among active Division I distributors. Last year he was second in the ACC with 182 assists — Duke’s Jason Williams had 220 — and averaged 6.3 per game. But that’s only the half of it.
“What you don’t know about him,” says Robinson, extending a forefinger for emphasis, “is how fast he is. He may be one of the fastest players in the nation with the ball in his hands.”
And though Arrington contributed nearly nine points a night for 12-17 FSU a year ago, he’d much rather pass the rock than shoot it.
“It’s just something I have in me,” he says. “I mean, Magic Johnson, what was he, 6-8 or 6-9? Such a creative passer. He had it in him. Certain people have certain qualities. Like (teammate) Adrian Crawford. He shoots the ball very well. For me, it’s passing the ball. That’s what I do.”
He did it extremely well as a junior, collecting 10 or more assists in five games, including four league contests. His best showing came in an early-season test at Northwestern, where he shot 5-for-9 from the field, scored 12 points and dished out 12 assists.
“There are games when I just feel it,” he says. “Games when I want the ball in my hands so I can work the offense. When you spot someone through the corner of your eye and you whip that pass over for an open shot, there’s nothing better than that.”
Expect an even more dazzling display from Arrington in the coming months. Robinson reports the sports management major has “worked his rear end off” this off-season and adds, “He is ready to blossom.”
Arrington, a National Honor Society member out of St. Anthony’s High School in New Jersey — where he starred for reknown coach Bob Hurley — welcomes the challenge and looks forward to playing an expanded role this season.
“They want me to be more of a scorer so that’s what I worked on all summer,” he says. “I’ve been shooting a lot. That’s what you’re gonna see more of from me.”
Perhaps then, after a couple of 20-point/10-assist outings, we’ll see Arrington’s feats bannered in the headlines.
“I think it’s my time,” he says. “I feel like I’ve waited my turn and I’ve been patient. Very patient. I think this year will be like a proving point to people. I’m gonna show them things they haven’t seen from me.”
Delvon Arrington. Get used to it. It’s a name everyone will know by early March.
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David Shaw covers ACC basketball for the Post.
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