Hall of Fame
A quick glance at Arthur King’s career numbers are enough to leave many in awe, but they’re downright astounding given that the totals were accumulated over the course of just two years, when the College of Staten Island’s program was rooted at Staten Island Community College. Back then, SICC was at the hub among the regional and national basketball powers and each night was a showcase of rich, basketball talent. The young man at the center of it all was Arthur King.
In 1969-70, King emerged on the scene alongside then-sophomore and current Hall-of-Famer Ken Lam, and the duo proved unstoppable. Lam would go on to set the school’s all-time scoring record and have a promising career at NYU and St. Francis, but King was there step-for-step, and quickly dubbed the nickname “Sky,” appropriate for his play above the rim.
In King’s debut season, the freshman starred in 22 games, and connected on an astounding 199 field goals in just 295 attempts, good for a 66% rate of return. He was just as potent at the free-throw line, banking 90 free ones and another 68%. His 488 points placed him second on the team, but averaged 21.8 per game, easily good enough to start garnering attention from many four-year colleges in the area. King was not just a scorer, as evidenced by his 68 assists and his hefty 267 rebounds, enough for a 12.1 per game average. His outstanding season led to the team’s berth into the National Junior College Region XV Tournament.
King’s freshman offering was outstanding, but it was a precursor to a phenomenal sophomore campaign as the centerpiece to the attack. Through 26 games, King dazzled to the tune of 642 points, a SICC record, and a 24.7 per game average. In his final game, he broke the school record with 1,130 career points, and it accentuated a 364-rebound season, good for 14.0 per game. For his career, King connected on 446 of an even 800 shots, a robust 56%. He was named a National Junior College All-American and SICC advanced to the Region XV Championship.
After an outstanding career at Sunnyside, King wasn’t finished. He would move on to play NCAA basketball at the University of Stony Brook, where he finished his abridged two-year career with 999 points, and remains the single-game record holder with 50 points scored against Pratt University in February of 1973. His 511 points scored in his junior season, his first with the Wolves, rank 10th in their history. Together with his numbers at SICC, King would go on to score well over 2,000 career points and nearly 1,000 career rebounds.
