Film Room: Boogie Fland

Not all recruiting classes are created equally. The Class of 2023 was not considered to be a great crop of talent and the 2024 has been even less regarded nationally. There are two distinct ways to look at “down” recruiting classes. One way to go about it is to ensure you secure the best of an otherwise not very good class. That is what the Kentucky Wildcats did with their number one class in 2023. They secured four McDonald’s All-Americans and five Top 40 prospects in that cycle.

The other way of looking at it is to punt on the top talent and turn your focus to the transfer portal, reclass options, or finding value further down the rankings. There was a sense that may be the Wildcats strategy in 2024. However, that changed when Coach Calipari pushed the chips to the center of the table for five-star point guard Boogie Fland.

If you close your eyes and picture a Harlem, New York point guard you probably will imagine someone like Boogie Fland. He has the personality and flair of a star in the making. Fland is an all-around playmaker who does not shy away from taking over a game offensively. The 6’3″ guard has the requisite size and length to play in the SEC along with enough athleticism to create his own shot consistently. With his confidence comes some ill-advised shots and decisions, but the total package is an exciting one. In a class littered with inefficient guards with elite physical tools, Fland blends a slightly more efficient offensive game with a slightly smaller frame than the likes of Dylan Harper or Tre Johnson. This is a prospect who is going to take and make tough shots.

On the EYBL Circuit with the PSA Cardinals, Fland averaged 15.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. As a junior at Archbishop Stepinac, he put up 18.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. He is a jump shooting guard with a score-first mindset. However, do not underestimate his playmaking ability. Boogie Fland is a good passer with some high-level court vision. Coach Calipari got their guy after turning up the heat later in the process. Ultimately, the number one ranked point guard per the Class of 2024 On3 Rankings, chose the Wildcats over Alabama and Indiana. Let’s take a closer look at Kentucky’s latest five-star commitment inside the KSR Film Room.

Shot-Making Off the Dribble

Yes, Boogie Fland is the number one point guard in the Class of 2024. However, he definitely has a score-first mentality. In many ways, Fland will be a pretty spot-on replacement for DJ Wagner in the Kentucky backcourt next season. The have similar size, are very aggressive on the offensive end, and do their best work off of the bounce. What really sets Fland’s game apart is his ability to create separation with the ball in his hands. He has a tight handle, changes speeds very well, and showcases elite balance when getting into his pull-up jump shot. There are some decision-making blunders that need to be reigned in, but you can’t often describe Fland as out of control. He plays with pace and dictates the tempo when he has the ball.

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This is the prototypical Boogie Fland highlight. The 6’3″ guard does a good job of setting up the ballscreen at the point of attack. That initial jab step to the right shifts his defender’s feet just enough to get a half step advantage. Then, he comes off the ballscreen shoulder-to-shoulder with the screener and puts the defender on his hip. From there, Fland has already won the battle. However, he takes one more dribble to create separation from both the on-ball defender and the help as he steps back to his left. That little hesitation, inside-out move with this left hand creates the separation needed to launch the jump shot. Great pace off of the ballscreen and great balance on the jumper.

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Evaluating high level talent against high level competition is important. You can’t just watch random highlight mixtapes and get a feel for how Fland will translate to the SEC. Instead, you need to watch EYBL film and games like this one featured above. This is the Catholic High School Athletic Association of New York AA championship game against Cardinal Hayes who features North Carolina commit Ian Jackson. Fland gets the ballscreen as Jackson switches off of him and attacks downhill to his right hand. The most impressive part of this clip is how quickly Fland stops on a dime and how much elevation he gets on the jump shot. That elite athleticism and balance is what allows him the separation to get a clean shot off over a very good defender. Shots like this translate to Kentucky.

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From the same championship game, Boogie Fland once again showcases his stop-and-pop ability. You can see how creative and shifty he is with the ball on the perimeter. Then, he attacks the paint and plays off of two feet to split by the help defender. His jump stop allows him to elevate while the defender is still moving towards the basket. Once again, it is that separation he creates that is key. The result is a beautiful 12-foot jump shot in the paint.

Playmaking Ability

We know that Boogie Fland is a very good scorer. His ability to create for himself off of the dribble is what made him into a five-star prospect. However, you don’t become the top rated point guard in the class without some overall playmaking chops. Fland can get all the way to the basket and is a willing and able passer. His length and athleticism allows him to finish consistently at the end of his drives. Additionally, his ball handling ability and pace he plays with allows him to stay under control and read the defense to make the right pass when necessary. Fland’s scoring prowess is impressive, but he isn’t one-tracked minded.

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At this point in the game versus Cardinal Hayes, Boogie Fland had 22 points and had helped his Archbishop Stepinac team build a third quarter lead. This would be a spot where a five-star prospect would understandably try to play hero ball. He had been seeing the ball go in and had gotten downhill to the rim once again. However, Fland doesn’t try to do too much. Instead, he drew the attention of nearly every defender and delivered a perfect left-handed pass to his teammate for a layup. Fland waited until the perfect time too when Ian Jackson fully committed and stepped up to stop the ball. That is high-level processing and court awareness on full display.

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Coach Calipari has coached a lot of elite point guards during his time at Kentucky. Guys like John Wall, Brandon Knight, De’Aaron Fox, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were all bigger guards who could go get a bucket. DJ Wagner could fit that mold in 2023 and now Boogie Fland is the next in line for 2024. Sometimes you simply need your playmaker to put his head down and go get a bucket. When you dive into the nuance of this clip you see what makes Kentucky’s most recent commitment special. High level guards need to be able to play downhill. Instead of getting drawn out east-to-west, Fland plays straight through the nail north-to-south. He gets his shoulders past the defender and is headed straight to the rim. Big time bucket.

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A lot of right-handed guards are more comfortable shooting off of the dribble when going left. However, even at the highest levels, not all of them are as adept at finishing at the rim with their left hand compared to their right. Boogie Fland is extremely comfortable driving and finishing with his left. You see here how quickly he gets right to left and the burst with which he beats his defender. Then, he plays off of two feet and finishes over size high off of the glass.

Three-Point Shooting

Shooting ability continues to drive nearly every discussion about college basketball. Analytics and spacing the floor have led to teams wanting as many people on the floor as possible that can dribble, pass, and shoot. For too long, Kentucky has lagged behind a bit in the shooting department. Boogie Fland isn’t going to be a 40% three-point shooter, but he is going to force the defense to guard him out beyond the perimeter. It will be hard to go under ballscreens which will accentuate his downhill playmaking ability. He has also shown the ability to shoot some off of the catch which means Coach Calipari can play him off of the ball as well.

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There is no denying that Boogie Fland is at his best with the ball in his hands. That is why the first 1,400 words of this film room breakdown was dedicated to that portion of his game. However, the New York native is a good three-point shooter as well. In 17 regular season EYBL games, Fland shot 32-96 from three-point range. On that sort of volume, 33.3% is pretty good. If you can make two threes per game, shooting 33.3% is good enough to receive the green light. In this clip, you see Fland come off of a staggered down screen following a ballscreen. He reads the defense well planting his foot to flare as his defender starts to go up through. Then, he sets his feet and buries the deep triple. That is a really impressive shot off of the catch when moving away from the basket.

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Here is our chance to dive into the mechanics of Boogie Fland’s three-point shot. As you can see, at the point of the catch, is very bow-legged. His knees are almost touching as he gets into his shot. However, someone by the name of Kevin Durant has a similar looking lower body when he shoots. It isn’t ideal as it will cause some inconsistencies, but his top half is good enough to make up for it. Fland lets the ball travel a bit too far to the side of his face and back on his shoulder, but the follow through is pure and his body is stacked from hips up. It isn’t necessarily how you would teach it at shooting camp, but it is repeatable.

What Does All This Mean?

There are two key points to make about Boogie Fland that we haven’t touch on yet. First off, he is a winner. Fland led Archbishop Stepinac to the CHSAA Class AA title over Ian Jackson and Cardinal Hayes last season. In that title game, Fland had 30 points and four assists. Fast forward to the EYBL Circuit and he led the PSA Cardinals to a 16-6 overall record. Secondly, for as aggressive as Fland is, he is relatively low-turnover. In 22 games between the EYBL regular season and the Peach Jam, the 6’3″ point guard had 32 turnovers. That isn’t elite, but when you consider how much he has the ball in his hands you will live with one and a half turnovers per game.

Boogie Fland is a score-first point guard with elite shot-making ability off of the dribble. He creates separation consistently with a tight handle, great pace, and quick-twitch change of direction. His scoring ability is what made him into a five-star prospect, but his all-around playmaking is what elevated him to become the number one points guard in the Class of 2024.

Coach Calipari got his guy to build the 2024 backcourt around. Now with Fland and Somto Cyril already in the bag, the ‘Cats can turn their focus elsewhere on the recruiting trail.