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Herrmann signs with CSUN; Arlington commits to Yale

Torrey Pines High School’s Nick Herrmann
Torrey Pines High School’s Nick Herrmann (1) becomes emotional after the team’s win against Cathedral Catholic High in CIF Open Division basketball championships on Saturday, June 12, 2021.
(Kristian Carreon / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Two of San Diego Sections top basketball players make college choices

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Two of last season’s most-dynamic boys basketball players — Torrey Pines out-going senior guard Nick Herrmann, and San Marcos senior-to-be Devon Arlington — have made their college choices.

Both were first-team All-CIF selections.

The 6-foot-2 Herrmann, who averaged 18.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals a game for Torrey Pines, has signed with Cal State Northridge.

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He is the second Torrey Pines senior to sign, joining Chris Howell, who is headed to Saint Mary’s.

The 6-3 Arlington, who averaged 20.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.8 steals a game for San Marcos, has committed to Yale.

Herrmann is the feel-good story of recent years.

In September of 2018, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a cancerous tumor in his left leg.

He underwent four surgeries, spent 70 days in the hospital, needed 44 staples to close the surgical wound and was encased in a hip-to-toe straight-leg cast for months.

Then, in January of 2019, Nicole Elliott Herrmann, Nick’s mother, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Both are healthy now, but Nick missed all of his junior season, and was granted a hardship waiver by the CIF.

Despite his success, and clutch play — which included a 30-foot buzzer-beater to beat Cathedral Catholic in last season’s San Diego Section Open Division championship game, Division I college scholarship offers were slow to come.

“I was getting anxious, no doubt,” Herrmann said. “I had to be patient. I had to have faith.

“I had interest from other programs, but Cal State Northridge was the first to offer. They were the most straightforward.”

The Matadors, who were 9-13 last season, are a member of the Big West Conference.

Trent Johnson, who has a 276-264 record at Stanford, Nevada, LSU and TCU, is Cal State Northridge’s interim coach.

“He’s unbelievable,” Herrmann said of Johnson. “He’s a special person.

“He has plans for me, plans to push me. There is an opportunity to get some minutes as a freshman.”

Arlington had dozens of college offers, finally narrowing the field to Ivy League schools Yale, Columbia and Dartmouth as well as Boston University, UC Davis and New Mexico.

“The academics at Yale are second to none,” Arlington said of a school that is rated No. 4 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report and has an acceptance rate of 6.1 percent.

“If you do well at Yale — academically and on the court — you can be set for life.

“The connections after graduating from Yale are as good as the education.”

He plans to major in business administration at the New Haven, Conn., school.

During the pandemic, the Ivy League didn’t play last season. Yale, though, won Ivy League championships in 2015-16, 2018-19 and 2019-20.

“Yale plays the best basketball in the Ivy League, and the program has a winning tradition,” Arlington said. “I don’t know what my role will be, but I want to make an impact.”

Currently, Ryan Langborg (La Jolla Country Day) plays at Princeton and Kimo Ferreri (Francis Parker) plays at Brown in the Ivy League.

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