Boogie Fland, in action as Arkansas beats St. John’s in the NCAA Tournament on March 22. Photo courtesy of Arkansas Basketball
By Dan Murphy
Stepinac HS alum Johnuel “Boogie” Fland is living the dream after his Arkansas Razorbacks basketball team upset St. John’s on March 22. Fland, perhaps the best basketball player ever to play at Stepinac, is a 6’2″ freshman who originally signed to play basketball at the University of Kentucky under legendary coach John Calipari.
But when Calipari stepped down from Kentucky last year, Fland withdrew his letter of intent and searched for his college of choice. When Calipari went to Arkansas, Fland joined him.
Fland has been hurt for some of this season, but came back to help Arkansas beat St. John’s on March 22 with four points and an overall good game as the team’s back up point guard.
Fland was ranked a five-star recruit coming out of Stepinac last year. He’s from the Bronx, so alot of his friends and family were rooting for St. John’s.
Before he injured his hand, Fland was averaging 15.1 points, 5.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game.
Fland is 18 but he is wise beyond his years. He knows about his finances and plans on going to the NBA after Arkansas magical run in March madness. “You have to grow up fast in this life, especially with money,” Fland adds. “People need to be taught how to handle themselves at a young age.”
Fland’s dream would be to be drafted by the NY Knicks and play at Madison Square Garden.
But first, Arkansas will play Texas Tech in the Sweet 16 of March madness.
