Fland Gets Chance to Prove He's More Than Half Acuff at Florida

While Arkansas fans struggle to keep count with how many 20+ games freshman guard Darius Acuff, Jr. has put up (19), his predecessor, who was supposed to be equally as productive, isn't quite having that much trouble keeping a running total of such games.

On a lesser Razorbacks team with far more opportunities to hog the scorebook, former Arkansas guard Boogie Fland was able to put up three games of more than 20 points with 20 against Pacific, 22 against Little Rock, 20 against Michigan and 24 against Oakland last season.

It's the same type of point production in an entire season that Acuff puts together over a two-week period during SEC play if he's a little off on his game. Unfortunately for Fland, he suffered a hand injury at the beginning of SEC play that kept him out for much of the conference slate.

By the time he came back, the team had already left Fland behind. So, after the tryout with the NBA didn't go as planned, he took a massive payday with defending national champion Florida to get a shot at former coach John Calipari this season.

Well, the time has finally come to prove Arkansas missed out on losing him. However, there is a reason Razorbacks fans haven't noticed he is in the league still for the most part.

That's because unless Hogs fans heard Gator Nation complaining about how poor of a fit Fland and fellow Florida guard Xaivian Lee were together out of the portal for much of the season, they probably wouldn't have noticed.

I think this is one of the rare cases where Arkansas & Florida fans alike are both happy that Boogie Fland transferred to Florida. Doesn’t feel like there’s any bad blood at all https://t.co/O2jBRaKN23
— Blue-Orange Gator (@BOGBackup1) February 27, 2026

When it was time to see results from their investments during a three-game stretch that included Duke, Fland responded to the pressure by averaging more turnovers than assists.

Lee and Fland were supposed to be the ultimate guard combo. However, their skills never seemed to complement one another and what the Gators got for a hefty price on the tranfer portal market was the combined equivalent of one standard issue freshman point guard for the cost of two elite established veteran guards.

For example, Acuff averages more than 22 points and six assists per game. Meanwhile, Fland and Lee average 11 points and three assists per game.

Wrap them up in a nice, neat bow and Florida, for the low, low price of reportedly more than $8 million, bought themselves the equivalent of a single NCAA Player of the Year candidate. However, consistency is notable.

The last time Acuff scored less than 17 points in a game, people hadn't started marinating their Thanksgiving turkeys to get ready for the big day. Only six times since Arkansas and Duke shattered records for viewership back on Thanksgiving has Acuff not put up 20 points or more.

Over the past five games, which includes an icefest for a half against Texas A&M where Acuff couldn't have hit a shot if the rim were the size of a couch, the Arkansas guard knocked down 150 points to go with 29 assists and 18 rebounds.

As for Lee, he put up 20 or more against Kentucky and Vanderbilt, but spent most of the SEC season scoring in single digits. As for Fland, he's a little more consistent.

He's scored in double digits in three of his last six games. However, despite being much more healthy, he has broken the 20-point mark half as often as last year.

Fland scored 23 against Tennessee back at the beginning of January and put up 22 against Texas earlier this week. That puts his top two performances combining to total four less than Acuff's performance at Alabama, yet he is still relatively effective as of late.

Still, Arkansas should be safe from a Fland outburst even though there's the personal connection because the Hogs are neither orange, nor fighting for the right to be called UT, although it should be noted that the University of Texas refers to itself as UT-Austin within its own state borders.

Fellow SEC coach Mark Pope warned there is one aspect to Fland's game that might show up Saturday that isn't as likely to pop on the stat sheet.

"I’m really impressed with his impact on the game defensively," Pope said heading into an SEC showdown between Kentucky and the Gators. "He’s a steals guy. He’s a passing-lane guy. He’s pesky . . . On film, it looks like he has some length. It’s problematic. He’s challenging passes out of ball screens. He’s kind of having a real impact on the game there.”

The biggest thing Fland and his Florida teammates have working for them is they are relatively healthy. The Gators should be able to run and attack the rim, which appears to be the body blow that is consistently wearing on the Razorbacks.

Acuff literally lives in a walking boot these days and it's been a while since Arkansas had a normal practice week. Calipari said after the A&M game that his team would do a little film work and maybe walk throughs, but actual practice is off the table for his Hogs.

The Razorbacks are hobbled and short-handed. It's reached a point where Calipari said he really wants to encourage Acuff to get off his feet and let others like Meleek Thomas and Billy Richmond try to take down Florida, but he knows the ridiculous look he will receive if he suggests as much.

"He's playing when he could probably take some time off games, and he's playing anyway," Calipari said. "I mean, he goes through the shoot around and only does half of it, so he has enough to play the game. Like, should he play down in Florida? Probably not, but I'll tell you right now, if I said 'You're not playing down there,' he'd bust out laughing. 'You're out of your mind.'"

So, with Acuff limping around, there's a chance Fland gets his opportunity to remind Arkansas fans he's still hanging around drawing a paycheck while continuing to chase the dream of one day playing in the NBA.

His stats are actually less than they were last year with the Razorbacks and the NBA Draft will be loaded with an unusually high number of elite freshmen in addition to the normal amount of stars from overseas. This means there is a good chance Fland will play in Bud Walton one last time next year if the Gators can agree upon a financial number.

However, this is his one guaranteed shot at the Hogs. He'll give the Razorbacks his best just in case.

Regardless of how Fland performs, it won't be anything Calipari takes personally. Just like he pointed out once it was clear the NBA Draft wasn't happening for Fland last season, even though the former guard is no longer a Razorback, his old coach is still there for him.

“Been talking with Boogie the last few days,”Calipari posted during the combine. “I fully expect that he is going to be a first round draft pick [at some point]. I’ve coached players with his talent and know how they are doing in the NBA. He has ‘IT’. He also knows I will always be here for him.”

Arkansas and Florida lock horns Saturday night down in Gainesville at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN. College Game Day will heavily feature the game all day long.

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