Ranking the Contenders: Five-star Boogie Fland
Five-star Boogie Fland is in the thick of his visit schedule and officially boasts a top eight. The real list of programs with a realistic shot of landing him, however, is much shorter than that. A case can be made that just three teams have a real chance of landing the five-star point guard, with a few others being tangentially in the mix.
Today, Rivals national analyst Rob Cassidy ranks the contenders in the Fland Sweepstakes by how likely they are to actually secure his verbal commitment.
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1. KENTUCKY
The Wildcats should be viewed as 1A in a tightly packed group of three programs at the top of Fland’s list. The five-star guard'’s Sept. 8 visit to Lexington along with John Calipari’s reputation for developing one-and-done players have made UK the presumed slight favorite but it’s not as though the Wildcats are a lock at this juncture.
Expect Fland to go into decision mode in early October, with an announcement coming before Halloween. That’s all to say that it’s almost closing time for Calipari and his staff, as they will look to distance themselves from both Alabama and Indiana in the weeks to come. UK is yet to land a guard in the 2024 cycle, which may play well here.
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2. INDIANA
Multiple people in the know have referred to Indiana as the sleeper in Fland’s recruitment for some time now, but the Hoosiers have gone from “sleeper” to “serious player” in the last few weeks.
Fland visited Bloomington in the summer and has been a priority for the Hoosiers ever since, as head coach Mike Woodson has made multiple trips to New York to see the five-star guard. He even spoke at a coaching clinic at Fland’s high school. Woodson and company like their chances here, even if UK and Alabama might be tough to topple.
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3. ALABAMA
Fland's Sept. 23 visit to Alabama reinforced the Tide as one of very few teams with a shot of landing the Stepinac High School star’s pledge. There's some serious separation between the top three and everyone else in the mix, as it now seems like a bit of a lock that the touted guard will play for the Wildcats, Hoosiers or Crimson Tide. For now, every other program on the list looks to be window dressing.
The space among the top three isn’t large by any definition of the word, so a case could be made to tweak the order and put ‘Bama in the No. 2 or even No. 1 spot.
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4. MICHIGAN
Michigan is almost definitely on the outside looking in here, as there's some serious distance between the Wolverines and the top three. That said, they look to be the best of the rest. Fland visited Ann Arbor back in May, and the Wolverine staff stayed in contact since the trip, showing face at AAU events and open gyms at his high school.
Still, it feels as though it would take some serious luck for Michigan to actually land his commitment.
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5. MARYLAND
If Fland’s scheduled visit to Maryland actually takes place, the Terrapins will give themselves a chance to move up this list. If not, the program probably doesn’t bear mentioning as a real player to land the five-star guard.
There’s some semblance of a relationship in place between Fland and Kevin Willard’s staff, but it’s gonna take some work for the Terrapins to become real players – work that simply can’t take place without an official visit. Maryland is very much in a wait-and-see situation.
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6. ST. JOHN’S
The Red Storm are technically present on Fland’s list of finalists, but it doesn’t seem as though Rick Pitino is going to win this sweepstakes unless something changes late. It feels unlikely that Fland would pick SJU without taking an official visit, even if he’s been on campus in an unofficial capacity. Fland staying home in New York to help revitalize a once-proud program would be a nice story. It’s simply not a realistic one.