According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, former Arkansas point guard Boogie Fland committed to Florida this morning.
Fland, along with his NIL agent Mike Miller and manager Julian Aiken, told ESPN about the verbal commitment on Tuesday. Miller is a Florida alum who played two seasons for the Gators under Billy Donovan, leading them to the Sweet 16 in the 1999 NCAA Tournament and the 2000 NCAA Tournament finals before losing to Michigan State.
Fland entered the transfer portal on April 22 and also tested the waters before pulling out of the 2025 NBA Draft last week. UF is hoping that Alex Condon will do the same thing later this week, although the deadline for college players to withdraw isn’t until May 28.
Fland was a five-star McDonald’s All-American coming out of Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York. The 6-foot-3 combo guard is a natural point guard, but he can and will play off the ball with Xaivian Lee in UF’s backcourt.
In the Razorbacks’ first 18 games this past season, Fland averaged 14.9 points, 5.7 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game before sustaining a hand injury in late January that was believed to be season ending at the time. However, he was able to recover quickly enough to play in the NCAA Tournament.
Arkansas advanced to the Sweet 16 with wins over Kansas and St. John’s. In the win over the Jayhawks, Fland played 24 minutes and contributed six points, three steals, one rebound and three assists without a turnover.
Fland logged 20 minutes of playing time against the Red Storm, producing six points, four rebounds, one steal and two assists without a turnover. He only played nine minutes in an overtime loss to Texas Tech in the West Region semifinals and was held scoreless with one rebound and one steal.
Per to the 247Sports Composite, Fland was the #1 ranked combo guard in the transfer portal and the #8 overall player. Lee was a four-star transfer, the #7 point guard in the portal and the #32 overall player.
Matt Norlander of CBS Sports is reporting that Fland’s NIL deal with UF is expected to be North of $2 million.
“Boogie is a winner,” Fland’s former high school coach Pat Massaroni told the Gainesville Sun’s Kevin Brockway. “Boogie won a lot here. Boogie’s won a lot in his basketball career. At 6-2, 6-3, he’s a dynamic guard who can really score the ball. He can be a pass-first point guard. He rebounds really well for his size. And obviously he has to continue to shoot the ball at a higher clip, in Todd’s system, which is going to be important. I think the biggest thing is continue to transform his game in that system, will be key.”
The NIL deal certainly helped Todd Golden lure Fland to Gainesville, but the Gators’ fast-paced style and other factors contributed as well.
“Florida’s resources, their facilities, you know Boogie’s gotta transform his body and he’s gotta be more efficient at the rim,” Massaroni said. “I think both of those things, in Todd’s system, could allow for that.”
Most books opened Florida with 25/1 odds to repeat as national champions and were still using that number as recently as last week. Those odds were own to 16/1 early this morning and have now been adjusted to 15/1 at FanDuel.
The Gators still have three roster spots open, but one of those is expected to go to Condon. If he returns, they’ll be absolutely loaded for another Final Four run and still have room to add two more parts.