My AP class didn't go over Arrays until nearly the end, many programs simply don't require them and most beginners have difficulty understanding them.
Be cautious of the tutorials on Google, some are very outdated. I also suggest that you avoid Applets, they can be a real pain.
There are actually two Killer Game Programming books, one focuses on 3D, the other mainly focuses on 2D. That book will probably be your best bet, there are some complicated concepts in it so if you are even a little confused, go to Google. My friend recommends
http://www.zetcode.com/tutorials/javagamestutorial/ for a Java2D tutorial from a gaming perspective, but I never used it personally.
Depending on what you want to do, you may look into opengl, a great site that has helped me in the past is
http://www.cokeandcode.com/tutorials. The examples use LWJGL for rendering, but it gives you a general idea of how your game's framework should look. It also shows how to go about setting up movement and other questions you will probably have down the line.
