If there is a top player in the portal that the Florida Gators think could help them in the 2025-26 season they’re going to get involved and that’s just the case with their most recent and intriguing target–Arkansas’ Boogie Fland.
Boogie Fland will be an extremely familiar name considering his high-profile recruitment and productive freshman season in the SEC. One of the top players in his high school class, Fland initially committed to John Calipari at Kentucky. When Calipari left for Arkansas, Fland quickly got his release from the Wildcats and committed to the Razorbacks where he was expected to be one of the most important players on the roster.
Beginning the season in Arkansas’ starting lineup, Fland’s college career started with a bang as he scored 17 points in the season opener against a very good Lipscomb team before following with yet another 17 point performance against Baylor while also adding 7 assists. Despite the pieces not fitting particularly well on the Arkansas roster to start the season Fland was a consistent leader in both the scoring and assists categories receiving all kinds of attention from both media and NBA front offices looking at a possible future star.
Fland’s season took a tumble on January 18th when he suffered an injury against Missouri that held him out for the next two months. Fland did return for the NCAA Tournament, but after a lengthy time off he didn’t exactly look like himself, and with the team around him having changed their rotation and style of play it wasn’t the easiest situation for him to get back to speed. Following the season Fland entered the NBA Draft as well as the transfer portal, and if he does choose to return to college he will be looking for a different home than Arkansas by all accounts.
At this point it needs to be said that Fland is really hoping (and trying) to stay in the draft–though he is far from a sure thing to be picked high and get a lucrative guaranteed contract. Some mock drafts see him getting into the late teens and if so it’s likely he’d stay in the draft, but if he thinks he might be picked in the second then he could consider going back to college to better his stock. Right now the safe bet that he does remain in the draft–but Florida is strongly in the mix for his services if he does decide to return to college.
Standing at 6’2” and 175 pounds Fland is a small, quick guard that has already showcased his ability to get into the paint at will. Despite the rocky product around him at Arkansas to start the season and the injury Fland was able to play in 21 games, starting in his first 18 before coming off the bench in the three NCAA Tournament games following his return from injury. On the season he averaged 13.5 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.2 rebounds–really great production from a rookie in the SEC.
Besides his quickness and ability to slip by defenders to get into the lane, Fland is known as a solid shooter hitting 34% of his threes on 5 attempts–not an incredible percentage or gigantic volume, but an impressive mark given the difficult shots he got coming off screens in the Arkansas offense. Also an 83% free throw shooter, Fland was trusted to ice games late from the free throw line.
Something that Florida’s staff will like a whole bunch is his ability to score in transition. When a game starts going up and down in transition there aren’t many players in the country as comfortable as Fland he seems to always keep his head up and make the right decisions even while at a full sprint with the ball in his hands, and whatever team gets him is going to have a guard capable of orchestrating an uptempo attack.
While he is undersized and someone who is known for his offense, Fland is actually a really good defender and loves to hound opposing ball handlers and look for steals. Sure, there are times where his lack of stature and muscle can put him in tough spots such as in switches or when tagging rollers, but when it comes to one on one defense on the perimeter he is very difficult to play against.
The recruitment of Fland is going to be a difficult one given that he may end up in the NBA and if not will be one of, if not the best guard in the transfer portal–but there is traction between the Gators and Fland and they will be one of the likely landing spots if he ends up not going through the draft process.