It might have taken until deep into the transfer portal season but the Florida Gators finally landed a top target to complete their new backcourt with the addition of Arkansas’ Boogie Fland.
Coming out of high school Fland was an elite recruit ranking 20th in the class of 2024. As a freshman he didn’t disappoint, averaging 13.5 points and 5.1 assists per game in 21 games–a year that was shortened due to a thumb injury that took Fland out of most of SEC play. He did return for the NCAA Tournament, but after about two months off he wasn’t able to immediately play his best basketball.
After the freshman season at Arkansas Fland was looking for a new opportunity and the Gators gave him just that–a chance to play for the defending National Championships in a different offensive system that could give him the opportunity to showcase more of what his game has to offer. Let’s talk about what those different skills are.
To begin talking about Fland, you’ve got to start with his ability out of the pick and roll. 53% of his total offensive possessions came in pick and roll (partially due to Arkansas’ heavy reliance on these plays) and despite being a freshman Fland was able to operate in these settings like a seasoned pro. The 6’2” Fland was excellent at setting his man up before the screen arrived so that when the pick was set the defender was in a position to get blown up by the contact, and when that happened Fland had the speed to get downhill and put pressure on the rim. An excellent passer, you’d generally see Fland looking to find the roller for a dunk as his first read–something that was often open with a big Razorback frontcourt. This is something that Florida’s talented frontcourt will be awfully happy about–if they roll hard, Fland will find them for a thunderous alley-oop.
What made Fland dangerous in pick and roll as well is his quick trigger in the pull-up game. Fland’s first read whenever he was in scoring mode was to take the dribble jumper, and while he was sometimes streaky with these attempts as a freshman–he made enough to force defenses to react. Notably–Xaivian Lee is also someone that is excellent at shooting off the dribble, so Florida is going to have two players in the backcourt that are extremely capable of creating a decent shot on their own whenever it’s needed so the Gators should have options at the end of a shot clock or against an advantageous matchup to get half decent looks. Looking back at last year there were plenty of settings where an offensive possession was completely stalled out before Walter Clayton bailed the team out with a tough shot off the bounce, and while Lee and Fland are not Clayton-level elite when it comes to shooting off the dribble they are capable and the opportunity to have two options to do this should help.
While Fland might have taken most of his shots off the dribble last year the Gators would be wise to try to get him more shots off the catch this season. That’s because on catch and shoot threes Fland shot 47%, making him one of the best catch and shoot players in the country last season. Unfortunately for Fland these opportunities didn’t come enough, and sometimes it was because he was the player with the ball in his hands making plays for others, but if Florida can take note of this element of his game and find him opportunities off the ball there will be excellent results.
This brings in the question of what exactly the fit will be between Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland, both players that played a high-usage point guard role at their previous spots. Let’s talk a little bit about what skills overlap, and what are different between them.
Lee is more of an isolation player who likes to attack mismatches. He is very good in pick and rolls, with his first option being to string out the big and hopefully get into a situation where he can attack a weak foot.
Fland is less of an isolation player, and someone who uses ball screens more to set up passing situations.
Lee usually herky-jerky changes of pace and direction to gain advantages, and his dribble combinations that leave defenders in the dust make for highlights–but at times he can hold onto the ball for too long.
Fland is much faster than Lee, and plays a more North-South type game predicated on speed and physical ability.
Lee is the better shooter off the dribble, and Fland is the better shooter off the catch.
Having as many ball handlers and creators on the floor at one time can be a major advantage so the fit between these two players is likely going to be excellent–but there certainly isn’t any “traditional” point guard-shooting guard matchup that the Gators are going to try to employ, and instead they’ll likely try to get both of these players point guard opportunities even when they’re on the floor together.
One area where Fland is very different from Lee is on the defensive end. As much as Fland is talked about for his explosive scoring ability, he was just as good if not better on the defensive end at times where he could leverage his speed and quick hands to be an incredibly disruptive defender. Listed at 6’2” and 175 pounds Fland isn’t huge by any means, but that compact frame allows him to be very quick and hard to screen, and watching him get through dribble handoffs and blow up pick and roll actions is extremely encouraging for what the Florida defense could be next year. Lee struggled on the defensive end at Princeton and there was some concern about what that could mean at the SEC level, but now that Fland is on the roster he can be the one to take challenging point guard matchups defensively while Lee gets off the ball where he can use his length a bit more.
We’ve talked about the strengths, now let’s talk about where Fland will be looking to get better. Right now one of the biggest areas of improvement for Fland needs to be his interior finishing, as last season he shot an abysmal 38% at the rim, one of the worst numbers in the country for a qualifying player. Some of this starts with Fland’s smaller frame (something he will be working on this summer with Florida’s strength staff) as it seemed like he was either unable or unwilling to finish through any level of contact. Because of this he would often take off-balanced floaters or sloppy contorting layup finishes to try to avoid the rotating big, and it resulted in a ton of missed shots. What made these plays even worse was that not only did his reluctance to try and finish against bodies mean missed shots due to these ugly attempts, it meant that he was actively avoiding contact and not getting fouled. Fland shot just 66 total free throws last year which is pretty low for a scoring lead guard, but when you see how little he got to the rim and put up legitimate attempts you can see why he hardly got fouled.
When looking at transfers we are used to players with multiple years of experience that are more finished products, and what’s great about Fland is that he’s someone that has already produced like a top SEC starter, but is someone that could still make another huge leap due to his age. There is a lot to be excited about when it comes to Fland and what he’s going to bring the Gators with his defense, speed, and shooting ability on display.