Florida Gators Transfer Boogie Fland ‘Saved’ the Program for Next Season
Despite seeing star players Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard depart from the program, the Florida Gators men’s basketball program is still considered one of the best in the country next season due to multiple high-profile recruiting acquisitions.
The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman and Matt McCall agree, giving the Gators an A- and A on their offseason grades, respectively, on Tuesday after seeing the school’s offseason transactions finalized.
Headlining the additions are transfer guards Xaivian Lee, Boogie Fland and AJ Brown. Goodman singled out Fland as the biggest pickup for the Gators this summer.
“The Boogie Fland addition might have saved Florida,” he said, “in a sense, having an opportunity of being in the mix again.”
The important pieces from the frontcourt remain in the fold for the 2025 season, too.
The most notable returning big man is Alex Condon, who rebuffed NBA interest in returning for his junior season.
“Getting Condon back was huge. Many thought he was gone,” Goodman said.
In addition to Condon, the Gators will also have Micah Handlogten and Rueben Chinyelu to split the available center minutes.
Another player who could have gone pro this summer is Thomas Haugh. His performances throughout the regular season, along with his postseason play, put him in the spotlight this offseason.
The Field of 68 Guys have their questions about Florida, though. More specifically, the fit of each player on the roster.
“I have questions about Florida,” Goodman said. “My biggest question is how do the pieces fit now?”
One of the areas that their thoughts are centered around is the meshing of Fland and Lee. Both enter the program as guys who had the ball in their hands more often than not. So, how will they get along on the court?
“You got two guys that really had the ball in their hands a lot last year,” Goodman said. “I want to see how those two coexist.”
Although Goodman said his biggest question about the roster is who takes over at the three for the Gators, which head coach Todd Golden previously said Thomas Haugh would start at next season.
“My biggest question and the x-factor to me becomes the three-man spot,” he said. “Right now, they are going to try to fit Thomas Haugh into a position I don’t think he fits.”
The Gators will experiment with Haugh on the outside, and it will be something to watch as the season progresses. He has shown the ability to stretch the floor and defend out on the perimeter and down low, but putting him at the three changes how the Gators will attack defenses.
With Haugh at the four, they can stretch out opposing frontcourt players. Moving him to the three allows opponents to put someone on Haugh who is quicker on their feet.
Additionally, Goodman and McCall expressed their worry about the staff turnover that the Gators experienced this offseason. They lost multiple coaches to head coaching gigs, requiring replacements for their spots.
“When you lose two of your guys to head coaching jobs, it is a different dynamic that you have to figure out,” McCall said. “Staff meetings are a little different. Who is running the offense? Who is running the defense? It will be interesting to see how [Todd Golden] handles that transition.”
Golden was also thrown a curveball when guard Denzel Aberdeen announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal, who eventually landed with the Kentucky Wildcats. McCall touched on his departure as well.
“A little bit surprising,” McCall said. “If you are looking at it, he played a huge role the last couple of years. He’s a Florida guy. And now he goes to play for the rival in Lexington.”
That was not the last of their departures, either. Forward Sam Alexis also found a new home for this upcoming season, joining the Indiana Hoosiers. He won’t be as big a loss, considering he slowly fell out of the rotation as the season went on.
The Gators will begin their title defense on Nov. 3 against the Arizona Wildcats in the Hall of Fame series.
