Fland’s Detractors Had Overblown Suspicions for Nick Smith Jr Injury, Too

Boogie Fland, Arkansas basketball, Arkansas vs Georgia
photo credit: Craven Whitlow

It was only about a day ago that the Arkansas basketball season seemed to have taken a major hit when it was revealed that Boogie Fland will miss the rest of the year because of a hand injury.

However, on Wednesday night, Arkansas bounced back in a big way to notch its first SEC win of the season in a 68-65 nailbiter over Georgia. For one of the few times this season, Arkansas was impressive on the boards in the second half, racking up an 18 to 8 offensive rebound advantage. That played a role in Arkansas racking up 29 free throws on the way to the unlikely win.

Razorbacks DJ Wagner, Adou Thiero and Karter Knox were especially effective driving to the basket with the shot clock running down, either scoring, getting fouled or putting up shots that drew an extra defender and allowed a Razorback to grab an offensive rebound or get fouled attempting one. Perhaps Fland’s weakest area was his ability to attack the basket and draw fouls with the shot clock running down, and this game showed that Arkansas being more effective in this area ended up being the deciding factor.

It was enough to some especially short-sighted college basketball fans to claim Boogie Fland “was holding Arky back.”

Fland had successful surgery to repair an injury to the Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) on his right thumb. The surgery took place in New York City, but he will eventually return to Fayetteville, where he’ll continue to work with the UA training staff.

(The injury shouldn’t be confused with the torn UCL that is common among baseball players and typically requires Tommy John surgery. Fland’s injury is to the UCL in his hand, not elbow.)

“The injury originally occurred in Arkansas’ game against Florida (Jan. 11) and he attempted to play through it over the Razorbacks’ past two games (at LSU and at Missouri),” the statement read. “After consulting with team physicians and multiple hand specialists, surgery was selected as the best option for full recovery.”

Not having Fland against the Bulldogs wasn’t particularly surprising, given John Calipari’s comments following the Missouri loss on Saturday. Then, during his radio show Monday night, the Hall of Fame coach said he was “doubtful at best.”

Officially, there is “no timetable for his return,” but assuming it is season-ending as Rothstein reported, the setback is a significant blow to the Razorbacks (11-7, 0-5), who are still searching for their first SEC win amid their worst start to conference play since 1985-86.

A five-star recruit and the top-ranked point guard in the 2024 class, Fland has been a bright spot as Arkansas’ second-leading scorer and has played himself into first-round discussion for this summer’s NBA Draft.

While his efficiency has taken a hit in SEC play, with a 2-of-13 shooting performance in his last game being the low point, the Bronx, N.Y., native will end his freshman campaign averaging 15.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.5 steals and only 1.6 turnovers.

Fland’s 5.7 assists per game are tied for sixth-most in a single season in UA history and third among freshmen, behind only fellow NYC native Kareem Reid (6.6) and Courtney Fortson (5.9). He took better care of the ball than those guys, though, with his 3.68 assist-to-turnover ratio ranking third in school history, with only a pair of seniors — Fred Gulley III (4.06) and Lee Mayberry (3.74) — ranking ahead of him. Mayberry held the previous UA freshman record, but it was nearly one full assist less at 2.70.

This likely marks the end of his Arkansas career. He’s widely expected to enter the draft and become the Razorbacks’ latest one-and-done, following in the footsteps of Moses Moody, Anthony Black, Jordan Walsh and Nick Smith Jr.

Pushing Back on “Nick Smith Jr.” Narrative

Speaking of Nick Smith Jr., his name has resurfaced in Arkansas in light of the Boogie Fland news.

The timing of the Fland announcement is somewhat peculiar because, according to John Calipari, he suffered the injury on Jan. 11, when teammate Billy Richmond III inadvertently stepped on it during the Florida game.

It wasn’t until a week later — after he had played 38 and 33 minutes in losses at LSU and Missouri, respectively — that the injury was made public.

Given what they experienced a couple of years ago with Smith and his “right knee management,” some Arkansas fans have naturally had flashbacks:

It also doesn’t help that Kentucky fans are adding fuel to the fire by comparing it to injuries to past Wildcats like Shaedon Sharpe, Devin Askew and Sahvir Wheeler. They are apparently skeptical of the validity of their injuries and believe — similar to fans with Smith at Arkansas — that it was a move to prevent their NBA Draft stock from plummeting.

However, it might be premature to pile on Fland and act as if he’s a quitter. If the timeline Calipari laid out is accurate, he played through the pain of a season-ending injury for two games — even after an 0-3 start to league play and with NCAA Tournament hopes dwindling.

On his radio show Monday night, the Hall of Fame coach even acknowledged that his freshman point guard probably shouldn’t have played against Missouri, but he insisted on it anyways. That doesn’t sound like a guy just mailing it in. It’s also noteworthy that he plans to return to Fayetteville and still be around the team as he recovers.

Of course, similar logic could be used in Smith’s defense, too. The North Little Rock product came back from his initial knee injury, reaggravated it and then came back again down the stretch, even though he clearly wasn’t at full strength. That likely contributed to him slipping to No. 27 overall in the NBA Draft after being projected as a potential top-5 pick.

It seems to have all worked out in the end for Smith, though. He cracked the Hornets’ starting lineup for the first time last Friday and has since put up 15 and 19 points in his two starts, shooting a combined 8 of 15 from beyond the arc.

Charlotte has struggled to an 11-28 record entering Wednesday, but it has won all three games in which Smith – who is now averaging 5.5 points in 12.5 minutes this season – has been on the court for at least 20 minutes.

Arkansas basketball fans would love to have seen his hot play of late in Fayetteville, but it wasn’t meant to be.

After beating Georgia, the Razorbacks made sure to share the moment with their recovering teammate:

YouTube video

The below was originally published before Arkansas vs Georgia

What’s Next for Arkansas Basketball

Looking at this news from a big-picture perspective, John Calipari will almost certainly tweak his roster-building strategy moving forward.

Without Boogie Fland, the Razorbacks are left with only eight rotational players — and not all of them are living up to expectations. Calipari has already admitted he “might have to” bring in more players than the nine he signed this year, so this should be the final straw.

Bringing things back to this year, Arkansas now has 34.1 minutes and 13.1 shots per game to redistribute among those remaining players.

Sophomore D.J. Wagner is already averaging 34.1 minutes and 9.2 shots himself, but those numbers could see an uptick moving forward as he takes on an even larger role, which will involve more ball handling and distributing.

Perhaps the most intriguing side effect of Fland’s injury is the potential for it to spark Johnell Davis. He hasn’t been used like he was at FAU the last two years, where he grew into one of the top transfers available in the last cycle, but he could have the ball in his hands much more now and get back to that style.

Expect freshman Billy Richmond III to play more, as well. He’s logged only 14.9 minutes per game so far this year and Calipari has mentioned him as a backup point guard in the past.

How to Watch Arkansas vs Georgia

Date: Wednesday, Jan. 22

Location: Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.)

Tipoff Time/TV: 8 p.m. CT (SEC Network)

***

Check out some recent Nick Smith Jr. highlights:

YouTube video

More on Boogie Fland:

YouTube video
YouTube video

***

More coverage of Arkansas basketball and Arkansas vs Georgia from BoAS…

Facebook Comments