Gators’ Boogie Fland To Start At Point Guard
Arkansas transfer Boogie Fland will take over the primary ball handling responsibilities for Florida men’s basketball this season, coach Todd Golden said Monday.
Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee will play alongside him, taking on more of an off-ball role. Golden explained that both guards are more than capable of guiding UF’s offense, but he wants Fland to run the point on a dead ball.
“Off misses we don’t really care. They both have the freedom if they get the rebound to bring it,” Golden said. “Off dead balls, we’ll probably have Boogie bring it to start, just from an organizational standpoint. But when he’s not in the game, Xaivian will bring it. It’s the benefit of having two guys that can play the position.”
Despite Lee playing point guard in New Jersey for the past three years, Golden values his play-making abilities off the ball. He will primarily play on the left side of the perimeter and corner, so he can attack the basket with his dominant hand. To outline the vision, Golden mentioned that when Lee is off the ball, he will mirror the offensive duties Alijah Martin had last year, with physical drives to the paint and off-the-catch 3-pointers.
“We want to get him in positions where he is a decision maker and a playmaker. Whether it’s a zoom action or bring him up and let him play out of the ball screen or he’s getting downhill getting to his right hand,” Golden said. “He’s a very capable playmaker going left as well. Honestly, one of his best talents is his ability to playmake both ways.”
Beside Lee, Fland was one of the best freshman guards in the country last year at Arkansas, averaging 13.5 points per game, with a 3.64 assist-to-turnover ratio. Reducing turnovers is one of Golden’s main points of improvement for his defending national champs. Decision-making was a lingering issue last year despite tremendous guard play from his senior trio of Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Martin.
“We haven’t done nearly a good enough job yet taking care of the ball,” Golden said. “But Boogie had a great assist-to-turnover ratio last year. Xaivian was fantastic and Tommy [Haugh] and those guys [Alex Condon, Micah Handlogten and Rueben Chinyelu] are great front court players in terms of taking care of it. I think we were 73rd in America in turnover rate last year. My goal is to be top 25.”
Lloyd Impresses
While returning one of the deepest front courts in the country, Florida’s depth at guard is thinner than in past seasons. Urban Klavzar, arguably UF’s best shooter, is the third guard in the rotation. However, his defensive shortcomings are still a concern.
In turn, a big question mark coming into the season was freshman guard Alex Lloyd, who is only 6 foot 3 and 180 pounds. But through a couple weeks of workouts, he has turned heads.
“Alex Lloyd has been a bright spot for us,” Golden said. “ I am not sure what exactly his role is going to be, but he has given us confidence that he can help us a little bit.”
Florida saw how important depth is last year when Martin and Clayton were out for periods in February. Its 2025 squad does not have the guard flexibility that the senior trio provided, so Lloyd providing meaningful minutes could prove essential.
“Coming in being a little slight, and just never being at this level before, you wonder, especially for a guard, how long it’s going to take for him to adjust,” Golden said. “Boogie has shown to be one of the better on-ball defenders that has been around in a while. And for Alex to go up against that everyday in practice, and he’s hanging on to his guts and competing the right way, we think he has a chance.”
Category: Basketball, College Basketball, Feature Sports News, Gators Men's Basketball
