Arkansas star confirms NBA Draft decision

While Fland, who just finished his freshman year with the Razorbacks, has the option of testing the draft waters and retaining his NCAA eligibility, his statement makes no mention of that plan, so it sounds like he’s preparing to go pro.

Fland, who won’t turn 19 until July, appeared in 21 games for Arkansas in his first — and potentially only — college season, averaging 13.5 points, 5.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 31.8 minutes per contest. He made just 37.9% of his field-goal attempts, including 34.0% of his three-pointers.

Fland underwent thumb surgery in January that was expected to end his season, but he returned to action for the NCAA Tournament last month. He wasn’t particularly effective in his three games back from the injury though, scoring just 12 total points on 4-of-18 shooting in 53 minutes against Kansas, St. John’s, and Texas Tech.

The 18-year-old ranked 48th overall on the latest 2025 draft big board from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo.

Here are several more draft-related notes:

• ESPN’s Jeremy Woo spoke to NBA executives and scouts about current and past NBA comparables for projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg and got some interesting responses. Woo zeroes in on five of those players — Jayson Tatum, Kawhi Leonard, Lamar Odom, Scottie Pippen and Andrei Kirilenko — and outlines the traits Flagg shares with each of them, as well as those he doesn’t.
• While Duke’s three projected lottery picks (Flagg, Khaman Maluach and Kon Knueppel) will be the headliners of Final Four weekend for NBA evaluators, there are plenty of other prospects to keep an eye on in the showdowns of No. 1 seeds featuring Duke vs. Houston and Florida vs. Auburn. Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports shines a spotlight on several of those players, including Houston guard Milos Uzan, Auburn big man Johni Broome and Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr.
• After leading the ACC in scoring as a sophomore, Notre Dame guard Markus Burton has decided to remain with the Fighting Irish for at least one more year rather than entering the transfer portal or testing the draft waters, agent Ron Shade tells ESPN’s Givony.
• Here are a few more of the prospects who have announced they’re testing the draft waters this spring as early entrants:
  • Mohammad Amini, G, Nancy Basket, France (born 2005) (Instagram link)
  • John Blackwell, G, Wisconsin (sophomore) (Instagram link)
  • Xaivian Lee, G, Princeton (junior) (via Givony)
    • Note: Also entering transfer portal.
  • Yanic Konan Niederhauser, F, Penn State (junior) (Instagram link)