Inside the recruitment of basketball star Boogie Fland, now committed to Kentucky
WHITE PLAINS – Boogie Fland scripted another surprise.
Deception is what made the 17-year-old Bronx native a five-star basketball recruit. He’s mastered the art of changing speed and changing direction to create time and space. He’s perfected the craft of midair adjustments that puzzle defenders.
And when Fland went public last Friday with his decision to play collegiately next season at Kentucky, schoolmates in the Stepinac gym erupted.
There were some eyebrows raised, too.
“I know it’s not what a lot of people expected,” said Fland, who also had Indiana and Alabama on his list of finalists. “I got help from my whole circle and I talked with players who went to those schools before I decided. Now, I’m relieved. I’m glad it’s Kentucky.”
The Kentucky decision
Playing in the NBA is the dream.
Wildcats coach John Calipari has a history of elevating next-level players. Devin Booker (Suns), Anthony Davis (Lakers), Jamal Murray (Nuggets), Julius Randle (Knicks) and Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves) are just a sampling of the more than 20 current players in the league who made the jump from Kentucky.
Immanuel Quickley (Knicks) was actually at Stepinac for the announcement.
Fland came to a decision 10 days before pulling off the Crusaders letterman jacket to show off a UK shirt.
Mom was the first to know.
“He handled all the attention really well,” Shamika Smith said. “I was probably more all over the place mentally and emotionally than he was. Every day I would ask, ‘Are you OK?’ There were just so many thoughts. And then I saw him in a zone. He was locked in and was like, ‘Mom, I need to make a decision and I need you to respect it.’ I never spoke about where I wanted him to go and I’m glad he was able to make a grown-man decision.”
Dad initially registered surprise.
“I’m going to be honest, it shocked me because I didn’t think he was going in that direction,” John Fland said. “Once we sat down and he told me how he felt, then I understood what his vision was. Boogie is a kid who bets on himself, so he’s willing to take a risk.”
There were more than 30 scholarship offers to consider during the process that essentially began even before Fland enrolled at Stepinac.
He’s been on the radar since middle school.
Fland is highly motivated to improve. There has never been an offseason. He is creative and charismatic, but the ability to score in a crowd above the rim or in open space a step or two beyond the arc is what makes Fland special.
Getting stronger is the current priority.
And there is more time for that now that a decision has been made. Fland’s phone was buzzing a dozen times a day as coaches from each of the finalists checked in.
Calipari logged bleacher time in Albany during the Federation Championship last March. He was in White Plains on Sept. 19 for an open gym and home visit. Calipari was back Oct. 2 with Wildcats assistants Orlando Antigua and Chuck Martin for open gym.
Alabama and Indiana made several trips, as well.
Headline writers in Louisville and Lexington have been served a lob. Boogie is a perfect fit for a team that has Big Dance aspirations.
His given name is Johnuel.
“Boogie was always dancing,” Smith said. “It started when he was a toddler. We’d go to functions and Boogie was dancing. I would say, ‘C’mon, Boogie,’ and everyone started calling him that.”
How NIL factored in
Fland continues to enjoy a good time, but he can be serious, too, realizing there was more than basketball to consider. The recruiting process changed significantly on July 1, 2021 when the NCAA permitted college athletes to profit from the use of their name, image and likeness.
“Schools were using all the assets they had available to recruit a player − the coaching staff, the roster, the opportunities that a player would have,” said Luke Fedlam, who leads the sports law practice at the Ohio firm Porter Wright and is a managing partner with the consulting group Advance NIL.
“They would use the facilities, academics and geography, tradition and history of success in that athletic program. They have to now add NIL as one of those assets. So in any conversation from a recruiting perspective, especially at the highest levels, name image and likeness most certainly is a part of the conversation. Schools are talking about deals that athletes on their team have already done or are currently doing, the money that’s being made by athletes on the team, the business opportunities in the community.”
It’s a lot to absorb.
“NIL changed the game,” Fland said. “You definitely had to take notes. Everything that’s said is important. And you have to understand they weren’t going to tell you no. They would tell you anything you wanted to hear. You have to make sure you listen to everything they say.”
There were adults in the conversation the entire time, helping to sort out fact from fiction.
“Boogie was presented with opportunities at every school that offered him, basketball and business opportunities,” Crusaders coach Pat Massaroni said. “You have to make decisions. Boogie, his goal is to make the NBA, whenever that happens, but you have to factor in the business side.”
Under current NCAA bylaws, the discussion of potential deals is allowed. But promising deals is a recruiting inducement that could trigger an investigation.
Each student-athlete has to decide how much time and effort they want to invest while competing and studying.
“There are responsibilities that come along with all of the NIL opportunities that present themselves,” Fedlam said. “Those responsibilities include understanding a contract before you sign it, understanding that taxes need to be paid. … The schools that understand the responsibilities are leaning into really helping to equip and empower their student-athletes and bringing in experts to help make sure they understand how to effectively navigate this NIL environment.”
Fland is already earning.
The exact figures remain within the family, but it’s more than pizza and Nike money.
He’s got reach outside the lines, too, with nearly 46,500 Instagram followers. According to On3 NIL, a site that indexes the NIL valuation of high school and college athletes, Fland’s current earnings potential ranks 27th among the nation’s most visible scholastic basketball players at $232,000.
Basketball remains the priority. Getting another CHSAA title would be a fun way to exit high school.
Future success on and off the court depends on Fland cracking the rotation at Kentucky, otherwise there is no experience or exposure. The idea of taking a short break ahead of the first day of practice, Nov. 4, did not go over well.
“Nope. Nope. Nope. We’re going to Kentucky and that’s something I want to be ready for,” Fland said.
In case a little added motivation is needed, Fedlam pulled out the crystal ball.
“Someone like (Fland), generally speaking, who has the opportunity to be on television quite a bit, to make an impact in that sport, to be a recognizable celebrity that has a social media following, you could imagine six figures is not something that would be too challenging in this current environment. You could imagine potentially seven figures, as well, depending on how his celebrity and following grows. At the end of the day, because there’s no true fair market value in college sports right now, the value of any athlete is really what anyone is willing to pay for it.”
Mike Dougherty covers high school basketball for The Journal News and lohud.com. Follow along on Twitter/X @lohudhoopsmbd—