FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks took care of business with a 76-60 win over Lipscomb on Wednesday at Bud Walton Arena, and first-year head coach John Calipari's three highly-touted freshmen all got in on the action.
Rated as a five-star at the No. 10 overall player in the 2024 class, Boogie Fland was the only freshman in the starting lineup for the Hogs. He led the team with 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field and he also added three rebounds, three assist and a steal.
A four-star and the No. 22 overall recruit in the 2024 class, Karter Knox was the second of the three freshmen to get in the game and he was the third player off the bench with 14:50 left in the first half. Knox was the star of the show at the end of the first half, when he scored all five of his points in the game.
Richmond was a four-star prospect and checked in right behind Knox as the No. 23 player in the 2024 class. He checked into the game for the first time at the 13:01 mark in the first half and finished the game with four points, two rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.
Below is a closer look at how each performed, plus quotes from Calipari postgame...
#2 - G Boogie Fland - 6'2", 175 lbs. - Bronx, N.Y.
According to HogStats, Fland is one of four freshmen in program history since 1980-81 to have 17+ points, 3+ rebounds and 3+ assists in their Razorback debut. The other three on that list are Courtney Fortson, Ronnie Brewer and Patrick Beverly.
After earning the start, Fland hit the first ever basket of the John Calipari era in Fayetteville. He then went over 14 minutes without a made field goal in the game, but he was adding on the other end with a pair of rebounds and two steals during that stretch.
Fland had a really nice drive that led to a layup after a Richmond steal at the 4:40 mark in the first half and he added a mid-range pull-up jumper at the 1:49 mark to give him eight points at the halftime buzzer. Fland played a team-high 19 minutes in the first half and he had a team-best plus/minus of plus-13.
At the 17:27 mark in the second half, Fland put on a nice spin move and pulled up for another mid-range shot to give him 10 points on the day. He added another pull up jumper a little over a minute later off a screen. His ability to knock down mid-range shots off the dribble was impressive.
Fland's first 3-pointer dropped at the 11:27 mark, but that was the only of his eight shots from behind the arc that went through the net. He missed three more 3-pointers after that and hit a layup at the 18-second mark, which was the final shot of the game for the Hogs.
It's safe to say that Fland's performance might've been impressive, but his 1-for-8 mark from three did not make Calipari happy.
"But took like a, ‘Why would you shoot a 3?’ Boogie, you barely made one and it went (imitates ball clanging around the rim) — that was the one you made and you kept shooting," Calipari said. "Shoot 2s. I’m not going to tell you not to shoot, just don’t shoot 3s. ‘Well I’m trying to get my — ‘ No, no. We’re trying to win. You get in that gym over there and shoot 3s."
#11 - F Karter Knox - 6'6", 220 lbs. - Tampa, Fla.
He might've had a slow start offensively in the first half, but Knox was the story of the final two minutes before halftime. The 6-foot-6 forward hit a step-back three at the 1:19 mark and he then out-did himself shortly after with a driving slam dunk to put the Hogs up 39-28 with 23 seconds left in the first half.
Asked if Knox is capable of playing at that level consistently, Calipari said yes.
"And we need him to," Calipari said. "He’s got to be one of those guys, but you can’t just go in the perimeter and do a step-back three. He made one three with the guy on him. Like, why would you shoot that? And it went in. So I didn't say anything.
"And they'll tell you. I tell them, ‘You can shoot hooks from half court for all I care, but you better make it.’ You make a hook from half court, I'm going to say, ‘Great shot, kid, way to put that thing down, bank it in.’ But you better make it. You want to take some stepback throw lefty? That ball better go in. He made that step back. But Karter's one of those offensive guys. We have to have to do what we're trying to do."
Knox played just 57 seconds in the second half and he was subbed out of the game after recording foul at the 10:13 mark.
#24 - G Billy Richmond III - 6'5", 205 lbs. - Memphis, Tenn.
Richmond logged 11 minutes in the first half and he scored four points on 2-3 shooting from the field. He also added a pair of rebounds, two assists and the steal that led to a Fland layup.
The Memphis native played for one stretch in the second half and logged a block during a span that stretched a little less than four minutes.
"With him today, he just scrambles up the game and he’ll fight," Calipari said. "He’s got things to work on. He took a tough shot, like, what are you doing? Drive to the rim. That’s what you are, you’re a good passer. You don’t have to prove that.
"Get in that gym, get better at it and then if there’s an inside-out pass to you, shoot the ball. Shoot it. But the ball goes around the perimeter (makes a noise and then shooting motion), what? Why would you do that? Go downhill and give somebody else a shot or get to the rim."
While he struggled at times on defense and didn't fill up the bucket, Richmond has a lot of potential. Calipari said he told Richmond to play point guard in practice two days ago, and it might've led to a key discovery.
"He was ridiculous," Calipari said of Richmond at point guard in practice. "He was making all the right plays, he was getting by people, he was throwing… I’m like, you know what? We just found a third point guard. I was going to play him at point today. So if you have him in with two point guards, the best teams that I’ve coached had three point guards on the floor.
"I think we found a third point guard that if so and so is not passing it ahead or holding the ball too much or trying to shoot too much, boom, you either go off-guard or you’re on the bench and we’ll let one of these two play point."
