John Calipari, Arkansas basketball get crushing Boogie Fland injury update
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In John Calipari’s first season as head coach, Arkansas basketball has landed significantly below expectations. The Razorbacks are 0-5 in SEC play after a five-game losing streak. The Razorbacks’ latest showing may have been there worst of them all: an 83-65 loss to Missouri where Calipari’s club started the game in an 18-2 hole.
After that game, Calipari revealed that star guard Boogie Fland had a hand injury that he had been dealing with since Arkansas’ loss to Florida on Jan. 11 and that the injury didn’t look good. Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, those fears were confirmed on Tuesday. Fland will miss the rest of the season with that hand injury, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
Fland is the second leading scorer for Arkansas with 15.1 points per game, but he is arguably its most important offensive player. Fland is the primary creator for Calipari and company and averages a team-high 5.7 assists per game, so the Razorbacks will take a massive hit on that end of the floor.
Without Fland, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel for this Arkansas team. It already looked like the pieces didn’t really fit together in the first year under Calipari, and now it will have to operate without one of its most talented and productive players.
Who has to step up for Arkansas without Boogie Fland?
Without Boogie Fland, Arkansas is going to have a massive uphill battle to climb back into the picture in the SEC. The Razorbacks will certainly be relying more on leading scorer Adou Thiero and fellow Kentucky transfer D.J. Wagner, but there is one player who will have to seriously step up his game for this team moving forward.
Florida Atlantic transfer Johnell Davis was one of the best players in the country over the last few seasons and was a big reason that the Owls got to a Final Four in 2023. Davis was one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal and is a massive reason why Arkansas found itself in plenty of preseason top 25 polls.
On the floor, Davis has been one of the biggest disappointments in the country. Despite playing more than 28 minutes a night, Davis is scoring just 8.3 points per game and is shooting just 40.9% from the field. Davis hasn’t been able to pick his spots effectively and has looked uncomfortable for the most part on the offensive end of the floor.
Now, Davis must step up and play like his old self with Fland out of the lineup. The former March Madness hero averaged more than 18 points per game last season, and Calipari and company will be hoping to see more of that for the rest of the season from Davis.
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