Star guard in class of 2024 is a longtime UK recruit. Now, he’s finally visiting the Cats.
For more than a year, Boogie Fland has been a serious recruiting target for the Kentucky men’s basketball program.
He was part of a wave of class of 2024 prospects to receive a scholarship offer last summer from the Wildcats, which marked a significant shift in recruiting philosophy by UK head coach John Calipari.
Now more than a year into his serious UK basketball recruitment, Fland has taken a notable next step: an official visit to Lexington is on the horizon.
According to 247Sports national basketball analyst Travis Branham, Fland will be making three official visits in September, with Kentucky first on the list.
Fland’s official visit to Kentucky is scheduled for Sept. 8-10, with others to follow at fellow SEC school Alabama (Sept. 22-24) and Maryland (Sept. 29-Oct. 1).
This would take Fland’s number of official visits up to six: He’s already taken official visits to North Carolina, Indiana and Michigan.
A 6-foot-3, 165-pound combo guard who is a consensus five-star recruit, the charismatic Fland is ranked as the No. 8 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class by the 247Sports Composite.
Opportunities to see Fland excel in high-level, high-pressure basketball situations have been plentiful since he first received a Kentucky scholarship offer in July 2022.
This includes Fland’s performances with Archbishop Stepinac High School near New York City, as well as with PSA Cardinals on the Nike EYBL circuit and in various showcase events that have featured the best prep basketball players.
The Herald-Leader watched Fland play in early July at the prestigious Peach Jam tournament, as Fland helped his PSA Cardinals squad reach the quarterfinals of the end-of-season Nike EYBL event.
Brian Reichert, who covers prep basketball in the New York City area for Rivals, told the Herald-Leader in May that consistency and an improved ability to make contested shots are two of the biggest strides Fland has made as a high school upperclassman.
“He has excellent court vision and sees the entire floor very well,” Reichert added of Fland, who this summer was named the No. 1 point guard in the class of 2024 by Rivals.
Reichert told the Herald-Leader he views Fland as a hybrid guard who would likely be a point guard in college.
He also listed several characteristics that should help Fland find success in college basketball.
“(The) parts of Fland’s game that translate the most to the next level would probably be clutch factor, (his) ability to be a two-way player and his toughness,” Reichert said.
While Fland has largely played his college recruitment close to the vest, several important developments on this front have come recently.
Before news broke of Fland’s three September recruiting visits, he released a top-eight list of schools in mid-July.
That list includes all six schools that have received, or are scheduled to receive, an official visit from Fland: Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan and North Carolina.
Additionally, Fland is considering St. John’s (with former UK and Louisville head coach Rick Pitino at the helm) and defending national champion UConn (which recently landed four-star 2024 guard prospect Ahmad Nowell).
While it’s still early in the 2024 basketball recruiting landscape, Kentucky fans in particular are likely itching for a commitment from a backcourt player.
Rob Dillingham and D.J. Wagner are potential one-and-done backcourt players from this year’s Kentucky team, and Antonio Reeves will be out of eligibility after this season.
In addition to a potential backcourt talent drain next offseason, Kentucky has also had some high-profile recruiting misses when it comes to guard prospects in the 2024 class.
Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn), Ian Jackson (North Carolina) and Ahmad Nowell (UConn) are all class of 2024 players with Kentucky scholarship offers who have committed elsewhere.
This story was originally published July 31, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
