Arkansas, Calipari land McDonald’s All-American Boogie Fland

Flip season is going full blast for Arkansas basketball and head coach John Calipari as the Razorbacks have landed the commitment of McDonald’s All-American guard Boogie Fland.

The 6-2, 170-pound guard out of White Plains (N.Y.) is rated as a five-star prospect in the 2024 class by both ESPN and Rivals and comes in as the No. 18 overall player, No. 2 combo guard and No. 3 player in the state of New York in his class according to the industry generated composite rankings.

Fland initially committed to Calipari at Kentucky on Oct. 20, 2023 over a group of finalists that included Alabama, UConn, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina and St. John’s.

He reopened his recruitment shortly after Calipari made the move to Fayetteville and quickly made his way to campus for an official visit.

Arkansas’ newest backcourt piece put on a show at the McDonald’s All-American Game in Houston on April 2, scoring 17 points, including a trio of three-pointers and a go-ahead basket in the final minute, to go along with five rebounds and three assists.

Fland was named to the 2024 Nike Hoops Summit team, participated in the prestigious Jordan Brand Classic earlier in the month and has a gold medal on the resume with Team USA on the U17 National Team in Spain in 2022.

As a senior at Archbishop Stepinac, Fland averaged 19.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 steals per game.

Here is a detailed scouting report on what Fland brings to the table for the Hoop Hogs from 247Sports basketball analyst Adam Finkelstein:

“Fland is a skilled guard whose biggest asset is his ability to shoot the basketball. Like few other players in high school basketball, he has an ability to heat up and start making tough shots from long-range. However, his willingness to settle for those tough shots, can impact his efficiency. The 30% he shot from behind the three-point line in EYBL came in direct correlation to his shot selection, since he’s undoubtedly a better shooter than those numbers indicate.

“While Fland is young for his grade, he remains undersized with a slighter natural build, but deceptively long arms. His lack of strength can sometimes limit his ability to play through contact in the lane, but he has good range on his floater and is adept at getting to the free-throw line.

“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.”