FAYETTEVILLE — The preseason exhibition between the No. 16 Arkansas Razorbacks and No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks may not have meant anything in the win-loss column, but fans got a heavy dose of freshman guard Boogie Fland, who was electric in an 85-69 win for the Razorbacks on Friday night at Bud Walton Arena.
The New York native poured in 22 points to go along with five assists and six steals. He was instrumental on both ends of the floor, but especially defensively, which caught the eye of Kansas point guard Dajuan Harris Jr.
"He blew up every screen, ran through every passing lane like what a point guard is supposed to do," Harris said postgame. "He might be better on defense than offense, but he’s a pretty good all-around player. Coach Cal’s got a pretty good point guard."
Fland said after the game he agreed with Harris' statement and that head coach John Calipari told him defense is where it starts.
"Just going out there and being me," Fland said. "Coach told me (to) start it off on the defensive end, so that’s what I did, and just get my team going, honestly."
Head coach John Calipari said Fland’s defense was impressive and caught the eye of someone who has watched the 6-foot-2, 175-pound guard play in the past.
"Everybody in that building wants to talk about what he did offensively," Calipari said postgame. "A friend of mine from New York City was here and said ‘I’ve been watching him for three years and I’ve never seen him guard that way.' So when he went and told Boogie that, what did Boogie say? ‘Yeah..you know.’ But he doesn’t understand it separates him. So, play good. There were just a couple immature things he did."
Fland did a good job of distributing the ball to several of his teammates, but perhaps the most highlight-worthy play of the night came with just under six minutes in the first quarter.
The five-star freshman jumped a pass from Kansas forward Zach Clemence and had a breakaway towards the hoop. Rather than taking the points himself, he tossed the ball off the backboard and junior forward Trevon Brazile grabbed the ball and slammed it home.
Kansas head coach Bill Self was very complimentary of Arkansas' guard play, saying it's possible the trio of Fland, D.J. Wagner and Johnell Davis are the best the Jayhawks will face all year.
"Everybody knows this, but he’s really good," Self said of Fland. "DJ was really good. (Davis)maybe isn’t quite himself. So that’s why I say, we won’t play against three better ones than those three."
Arkansas fans packed Bud Walton Arena for the exhibition game, and Fland said it was a great experience to play in front of such a rowdy and excited crowd.
"Man it was amazing," Fland said. "I was having fun out there. I was smiling up and down the court. It was just so surreal you know, to get to this point you know, it was amazing though, it was."
The Razorbacks next preseason matchup will come down in Fort Worth, Texas, against TCU on Nov. 1, which will not be televised. The regular season begins on Nov. 6 at home against Lipscomb.
Be sure to stay tuned to HawgBeat for the latest in Arkansas basketball.
