A Not-So-Secret, Secret Meeting that Sealed Fland to Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Committing himself fully to the NBA Draft process despite being in the NCAA Transfer Portal, then Arkansas guard Boogie Fland was not too interested in taking meetings with coaches. 

However, after budging on that thought and taking the time to meet with Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden back at the beginning of May, Fland was taken aback and knew that he had a second place he could call home. 

“It was actually better than I thought,” Fland said on Tuesday in his first media availability as a Gator. “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.”

Fland had high hopes as a freshman. He set out goals and hunted personal accolades for his first year in Fayetteville, Ark., but a thumb injury derailed all of it only 18 games into the regular season. He was averaging 15.1 points and 5.7 assists per game at the time of his injury.

“I feel like my season got kind of cut short last year,” Fland said. “I wasn’t able to do the things I wanted to do, you know, like some of the accolades I had in mind…”

Despite having the option to play through it to achieve these things still, he knew it would be best for him to get the surgery in preparation for the NBA draft process later in the year. 

“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,” he said. 

He was able to return to the court for Arkansas in the postseason after letting the thumb heal, helping them reach the Sweet 16. That is as far as the Razorbacks went, though, and following the loss, he entered his name into the draft and transfer portal. 

From there, he went through the process and received feedback from NBA scouts on where his game stands and what areas he needs to improve. And while all of this was going on, he then set up a not-so-secret, secret meeting with Golden in New York. 

“Coach Golden met me in New York, it was supposed to be a private meeting but it got out,” Fland said. 

At the time, Florida Gators' senior writer Chris Harry revealed Golden was meeting with an unnamed portal target in Brooklyn, where Fland is originally from. Although it wasn't fully confirmed until Fland had committed, it was clear from the start that Fland was the target Golden was meeting with.

This meeting between the two is what sealed the deal for the Gators. Fland stated it was the vibe that Golden brought, alongside a strong presentation from the up-and-coming head coach that sold him on becoming a Gator.  

“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,” Fland said. 

Then, following a visit to Gainesville, Fland made it official. He was going to be a Florida Gator. 

“The staff was great, it was like a family,” he said, “It didn’t really feel like a visit, it felt like a second home, and you know I was excited to be there.”

It also helped the Gators out that Fland’s agent is former Gator great and NBA veteran Mike Miller. Although Fland mentioned that while Miller was in his ear about joining Florida, he stayed out of his recruitment at the same time. 

“He definitely stayed out of it, he let me make the decision on my own,” Fland explained, “but you know he’s kind of biased.”

Fland now enters the program with some big shoes to fill. He’ll be replacing the likes of Walter Clayton Jr. in the backcourt. However, seeing how Clayton Jr. progressed in his career with Florida was one of the selling points in his decision to transfer to the school. 

“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,” Fland stated. “You see everything going up, and why wouldn’t you want to be in the same shoes as he was.”

He also understands that it won’t be an easy task to accomplish. 

“I feel like it’s a big task,” he said. “Just embrace it, honestly.”

Fland and the reigning national champions will begin their title defense on Nov. 3 in Las Vegas against the Arizona Wildcats. 

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