McDonald’s All-American Boogie Fland will follow John Calipari to Arkansas
Another domino has fallen for John Calipari as composite five-star guard Boogie Fland will follow him to Arkansas.
As it turns out, it didn’t take much convincing for composite five-star guard Boogie Fland to follow John Calipari from Kentucky to Arkansas.
On Wednesday, the 6-foot-2 guard from White Plains (N.Y.) Archbishop Stepinac took an official visit to Fayetteville and by the time he touched down back in New York on Thursday night he had committed.
Fland spoke to 247Sports a day before leaving for Arkansas and said that Calipari’s approach was much the same as it was when he initially committed to play for him at Kentucky.
“Coach Cal is telling me the same stuff since he recruited me at Kentucky” said Fland. “He wants me to come play for him and come play at Arkansas.”
Ranked No. 26 overall by 247Sports.com and No. 19 in the industry generated composite rankings, Fland is a versatile guard who can run offense, get others involved and score at all three levels. He is most definitely a scoring point guard and his high school coach Patrick Massaroni says Arkansas fans should be very excited about Fland.
“Arkansas fans are going to be excited for a player like Boogie,” said Massaroni. ” (He’s) a three level scorer, extremely quick with the ball and has unlimited range. Who at times does not mind being a pass first type guard.”
Fland is the second high school player from the class of 2024 to follow Calipari to Arkansas thus far and joins fellow McDonald’s All-American Kevin Knox. He’s not likely to be the last to do so and wing Billy Richmond — who is currently on campus for his official visit — looks like he could be the next in line.
Shortly before the beginning of his senior year, 247Sports director of scouting Adam Finkelstein included this in his evaluation of Fland.
“Fland has spent most of his high school career playing off the ball, but has developed into a reliable secondary ball-handler who has become increasingly capable of initiating offense with the ball in his hands. He has pace with the ball, both in the open floor and coming off ball-screens, a good left hand, and has definitely gotten tighter with his handle over the years.
Defensively, Fland has the long arms, quick hands, and feet to be effective. He defends with a playmaking mindset that leads to a high steal rate (1.7/game), and has untapped potential as someone who can pick-up and pressure the ball away from the basket.
Overall, Fland is a skilled shooter, who bases his game off his ability to make tough shots right now. As he continues to build up his body and learns to impact the game in other ways, he’s only going to become more efficient.
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