Published Apr 23, 2024
Recruiting Rumor Mill: Intel on Boogie Fland, key transfer, 2026 standout
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Rob Cassidy  •  Basketball Recruiting
Basketball Recruiting Director
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@Cassidy_Rob

With the last remaining uncommitted prospects in the 2024 class inching closer to finding college homes and grassroots season kicking into gear for underclassmen, there's no shortage of recruiting buzz making its way around. Add in the fact that the transfer portal is at it’s chaotic peak, and there’s more than enough to discuss.

Today, Rivals national analyst Rob Cassidy takes fans for a spin around the college basketball recruitment and discusses the chatter surrounding a number of high-level prospects.

ARKANSAS TO GET FIRST AND POSSIBLY ONLY CRACK AT FLAND 

Five-star point guard Boogie Fland will begin his official visit to Arkansas on Wednesday evening. Sources indicate that the trip is the only visit on Fland’s tentative schedule for the time being, which should be encouraging for Razorback fans.

The same sources close to Fland indicate that the New York-born star could decide to schedule additional visits in the wake of his trip to Fayetteville should he not feel compelled to pull the trigger right away. Fland was committed to John Calipari when the legendary head coach was at Kentucky, but also has a strong relationship with former UK assistant Orlando Antigua, who did not follow Calipari to Arkansas and instead landed at Illinois. Because of that fact, the Illini could find themselves in the mix if things fall apart between the Fland and the Razorbacks following the upcoming campus visit. Louisville has also been aggressively pursuing Fland, but he has not decided to schedule a visit as of this moment.

That said, everything about the situation suggests that if things go as planned on Fland’s upcoming trip to Fayetteville, his second recruitment could meet a swift end. If not, things could get more interesting. Razorbacks fans should be optimistic, however.

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GEORGIA LEADS THE WAY FOR FOR TYRIN LAWRENCE

Georgia has become the presumed front-runner to land Vanderbilt transfer Tyrin Lawrence, who is expected to decide in the coming days. The Bulldogs were in play for the talented guard a year ago before Lawrence decided to exit the portal and return to Vanderbilt. This time, however, head coach Mike White and his staff may get the job done. Nothing is ever an absolute lock in the world of recruiting, but Lawrence-to-UGA is starting to feel like something similar.

The 6-foot-4 Lawrence averaged 13.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game at Vanderbilt as a senior last year and will have one final season to play at Georgia or any other program he chooses.

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OVERSEAS OPTIONS IN PLAY FOR JASON CROWE JR. 

It’s obviously very early in the recruitment of five-star sophomore Jason Crowe Jr., who will have a long list of options by the time all is said and done. For now, however, UCLA has been most prominently involved in his process, having frequent conversations with Crowe’s circle and setting itself up to be a real player when coaches are allowed to contact 2026 prospects on June 15.

Standing between the Bruins and any other college that hopes to land the high-scoring guard, however, will be the allure of overseas professional leagues. This week, sources indicated that they expect Crowe to seriously consider playing overseas instead of college, due in part to his father’s relationships that span multiple European leagues. Jason Crowe Sr. found high-level success in multiple European countries during his career and reportedly trusts the system to get his son ready for the NBA when the time comes.

“I’m not ruling out overseas at all because it’s a good avenue and I would like that,” Crowe Jr., said when asked about the possibility of him going the European professional route. “I’m not ruling out college either, though. it’s going to be about whatever my family and I think is the best way to get me to the NBA.”

Crowe will weigh all his options before making a decision, and it’s much too early to make a truly educated guess on where he might land.