Evaluating the Impact of Boogie Fland's Season-Ending Injury

The season hasn’t gone to plan for the Arkansas Razorbacks, as they currently just have one win in conference play and five losses to go with it. Expectations were high for John Calipari and the Razorbacks entering the season, but they have struggled to live up to expectations.

Things are only getting worse as their star point guard and projected lottery pick, Boogie Fland, will miss the remainder of the season due to a right thumb injury. He just had a successful surgery, but now the questions will come into play on how this affects his draft stock and what to expect from him moving forward.

Arkansas will obviously struggle even more with the loss of Fland, as he was a major cog in the Razorbacks' offense. He was second on the team in points per game as he averaged 15.1 while also leading the team in assists per game at 5.7 per contest. Fland is a very talented offensive point guard who also plays with some intensity on the defensive end.

He’s a tough shot-maker who is very shifty with the ball in his hands and is a capable three-level scorer. He has a lot of finesse around the rim and is able to make acrobatic plays. His jumper off the dribble is advanced, and he has the handle to create separation from defenders.

Unfortunately, he shot under 40% from the field and had some moments where his shot selection was an issue, and the overall decision-making needed some work. That’s typically expected out of a young point guard and is a very common mistake that can be fixed with maturity.

A thumb injury isn’t too concerning when thinking long-term, but it is on his shooting hand, so it will be interesting to see how his jump shot looks in pre-draft workouts after his thumb heals up. Before the injury most scouts saw him as a guaranteed first round pick, but now we are asking ourselves if that will change.

As of now, it seems like this injury shouldn’t impact his stock too much, if any, but ending the season shooting under 40% from the field and playing a big role on a struggling Arkansas team is a bit concerning. Nonetheless, the offensive talent is evident, and it’s clear he has star potential, but the question is, will he reach it?

Other Arkansas players like DJ Wagner and Johnell Davis will get more on-ball opportunities and hopefully will take full advantage of the opportunity as they are looking to raise their own draft stock and hope to get their names back on draft boards. They will need to play high-level basketball if they want any hope of turning Arkansas’ season around.

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