There’s a world in which Boogie Fland is getting ready to play in the Round of 32 tomorrow afternoon for Rick Pitino and the St. John’s basketball team, not the Arkansas Razorbacks.
However, it was always going to be an uphill battle for the Red Storm to lure the Bronx native to Queens after he decommitted from Kentucky following the departure of John Calipari.
“It kind of got serious when [Rick] Pitino got over there,” Fland recalled of his recruiting process on Friday afternoon in Providence.
“He just wanted me to come there,” he said of his conversations with Pitino.
St. John’s was recruiting the Archbishop Stepinac (NY) superstar when Mike Anderson was still the head coach of the program, but the Johnnies were never truly in the race. The presence of Rick Pitino catapulted the school into consideration but the chance to follow Calipari to Arkansas was too great to pass up.
Now Fland and the Razorbacks will look to pull the upset against the Johnnies and advance to the Sweet 16 on Saturday afternoon (2:40 p.m. ET, CBS) and he expects most of his friends and family in the Bronx that did not make the trip to Providence to be rooting for Arkansas instead of St. John’s.
“You want to play against somebody who’s from your hometown, so it’s kind of like a dream,” he explained. “And it’s March.”
Boogie Fland made his return to action on Thursday in Arkansas’ win over Kansas, logging 24 minutes off the bench and finishing with six points and three assists on 2-of-7 shooting.
He had not played since January 18 after suffering a thumb injury. It was thought to be season ending after he underwent surgery for a torn ligament but the quick recovery and extension for Arkansas’ season allowed him to get back on the court.
He had been averaging 15.1 points, 5.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game prior to his injury and now will have a chance to end the season of his hometown program.