One of the several new additions this offseason was Arkansas guard Boogie Fland, who went through the NBA Draft process before transferring to Florida on May 20th. Fland met with the local Gainesville media for the first time after Florida’s first organized summer workout. Here’s the Q&A from the interview.
How did you get your nickname?
“When I was younger I liked to dance, so my mom gave it to me at a young age and it just kind of stuck.”
On first week of workouts, how it compared to Arkansas?
“It’s been an adjustment, for sure, working hard, like you said, new threads, just excited to be here, the culture, and you know, live up to a standard.”
Excitement level coming to reigning national champions?
“It’s definitely high. Coach Golden, he had a standard and we’ve just got to meet it. Excited to be here, excited to be with the program.”
Do you and Xaivian Lee embrace two five assist plus guys with great ballhandling?
“For sure you know I feel like we’re gonna take the program to the next level and uphold that standard and just do what we do.”
On conversations, relationship with Xaivian?
“I feel like it’s going to be the same as last year, everybody play with each other, it’s a team sport, so you can’t do it by yourself, here, we’re just going to uphold the standard.”
On workouts, with or against one another?
“A little bit of both, just to get the feel of competitiveness, =playing with each other, feeding off each other so just a little bit of both.”
You’re from Bronx?
“170 in Concourse (neighborhood)”
Favorite playground?
“Macombs Park, that’s kind of where I grew up, my family is from there, so .. “
Being a NYC point guard, players you looked up and followed?
“Yeah most definitely Isaiah Washington, Malaki Smith, some of those guys.”
How playground basketball translates to college game?
“I feel like the shiftiness, just the grit, where I come from, the competitiveness also, and you know just being that leader on the floor.”
On the NBA Draft process?
“I feel like my season got kind of cut short last year. I wasn’t able to do the things I wanted to do, you know, like some of the accolades I had in mind, you know I went through the process, I got the feedback, you know that was kind of my decision going to that, and then Coach Golden met me in New York, it was supposed to be a private meeting but it got out, but yeah, that’s kind of what led to my decision to come here, the staff was great, it was like a family, it didn’t really feel like a visit, it felt like a second home, and you know I was excited to be there.”
On the disappointment level from thumb injury, how you started at Arkansas?
“For sure, it was kind of like, I thought it was a jammed finger so I was just playing through it and after I kind of like got an MRI they said it was torn, they said you could play through it but I felt like I was going through the draft process so I got the surgery and that’s kind of what happened there, and from there, it wasn’t 100 percent but I was trying to get it back, therapy and everything.”
How did that meeting go with Todd Golden?
“It was actually better than I thought. I was going into that meeting, because I’m focused on the draft process, so I wasn’t really trying to take meetings. When I went into the meeting it kind of blew my mind, and that kind of led to the decision. I have a second home that I can call home.”
How did he blow your mind?
“Just the whole presentation, just everything, the vibe, that’s kind of what I was looking for, the vibe, and that’s what I got from everybody.”
How are you planning to attack the weight room this summer?
“I feel like that’s a big thing, especially SEC, you got to be I think 190 is a real SEC guard, so just trying to uphold that and Coach Vic has done a fantastic job in the last week or so, and we’re trying to build on that.”
What was your impression of Florida last year?
“I just see teams as they start to get deep into the season, they kind of took a step back. I felt like Florida they just kept going up and up, they upheld that standard. You saw that throughout the tournament, that’s why they National Champions.”
When was the last time you were on a team with two playmaking guards?
“I was on that last year, we just had some things that we needed to tighten up. It didn’t happen when I was there, or when I was playing.”
Is that postseason experience good for you?
“It was fantastic. That was on my mind since day one, since the start of recovery process. I’m happy that I got to do it, it showed my grit, showed my competitiveness, shows my love for the game, I was just excited.”
On replacing last years backcourt:
“I feel like it’s a big task. Just embrace it, honestly.”
What got you excited about Todd Golden?
“He understands. I feel like when someone understands you, you know you’re heard. I feel like that’s both ways.”
What’s the transition been going from coach Cal to coach Golden?
“It’s been the same. Just upholding that standard, they both got the same standard. Just exceling in that, that’s what you want to do.”
How do you feel about your defensive game, Walter Clayton’s comments?
“I feel I’m a competitor, I’m never going to give up, so to hear that, he just gives credit to me and the hard work I’ve been putting in, so I’m just excited for that, now I’m here.”
What was it like guarding him?
“Yeah, it was a time.”
What stands out about Xaivian’s game?
“Everything, you know, what he brings. I feel like people underestimate him because he’s coming from the Ivy League, but I feel like he can hold his own in this league.”
How would you sum up your game?
“I do everything. Whatever you need me to do I’ll do it to the highest of my standard, highest to my ability, and I just want to win.”
Early opinions of your new teammates?
“Everybody’s hilarious. Everybody has character, everybody has personality. I’m just excited to be here honestly.”
Funniest on the team?
“Definitely Cooper (Josefsberg).”
Adjusting to Gainesville?
“Fantastic honestly. The weather, everything, you know, all the people. Everybody’s so nice here.”
On Tommy Haugh at the 3?
“So versatile, you know, he can do a lot of things, especially at that height, oh my god, you love to have him play the three.”
On how much Walter Clayton’s progression a selling point to him?
“For sure, that was big, you know, just from the start of the season to the end of the season you could see the progression. You know, you see everything going up, and why wouldn’t you want to be in the same shoes as he was. He did it before you, you can do it again.”
On how he connected with Mike Miller?
“Oh my God, Mike is hilarious, too, he’s got his own character and he’s always bringing the energy in the gym, so I just love being around him.”
On how Miller’s helped him with his game?
“Seventeen NBA seasons, you know, he gave me the insight, things I need to work on, just you know that brotherly love that you want.”
On what it’s like to have an agent you can work out with on the court?
“That’s big. That’s kind of one of the main reasons I picked him, is just that connection that we could share and the understanding. When someone understands you and you’re heard, and they understand what you’re going through, so just that kind of factor we could kind of connect on a higher level than just business.”