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Arkansas

John Calipari jokes Boogie Fland has 'stinky' moments

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby:Grant Grubbs•12/31/24•

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Boogie Fland, John Calipari, Arkansas
Boogie Fland, John Calipari, Arkansas - © Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Arkansas‘ 92-62 win over Oakland on Monday was a tale of two halves for freshman guard Boogie Fland. In the first half, Fland only scored one point while shooting 0-6 from the floor.

In the second half, Fland looked like a different player, erupting for 23 points while shooting 9-10 from the field and 5-5 from beyond the arc. After the game, Arkansas head coach John Calipari weighed in on Fland’s performance.

“There are times he’s really special, and then there are other times he’s stinky, but it’s his choice,” Calipari said. “When he competes and plays at a high level, he’s good as anybody. When he goes and it’s the cool stuff, awful. But, it’s his choice.

“What [Fland] has done in practice has been an unbelievable change from where he was three weeks ago,” Calipari said. “When we had Camp Cal, he was good. He comes back from Christmas and was even better. And now it starts, you know, you play that way.”

After mentoring guards such as John Wall, De’Aaron Fox and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander through the years, Calipari has the authority to know when a player is special. Evidently, when he’s playing the right way, Fland belongs in that elite group.

Boogie Fland is averaging 15.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game this season while shooting 44.6% from the field and 40.3% from 3-point range. He was particularly pivotal to the Razorbacks’ 6-0 run through December.

Arkansas’ most difficult matchup during the stretch was in its 89-87 win over Michigan. In the win, Fland tallied a game-high 20 points and seven assists. As the Razorbacks begin conference play in January, they’ll need Fland to continue to elevate his game.

“We ready,” Fland said when asked about his mindset heading into SEC play. “Every game is gonna be a dog fight. Every game is gonna come down to the last possession. We just got to take it game by game and stick to the game plan. Just go out and have fun. Treat it like one of those fun games.”

Fans won’t have to wait long to find out if the Razorbacks are truly ready for the SEC gauntlet. On Saturday, Arkansas will kick off conference play as it squares off against No. 1 Tennessee at 1 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN.