Why Arkansas’ men’s basketball team is better than advertised

The 2024-25 men’s college basketball season is here. Dan Hurley has UConn gunning for a three-peat, Kansas and Alabama return experienced rosters and everyone’s heard about the freshmen talent at Duke and Rutgers. 

But let’s not forget about coach John Calipari’s squad at Arkansas, as it shares the traits of many of Coach Cal’s best teams: great guards, NBA-level size and athleticism in the front court and depth to spare. And, for the moment, they are a little under the radar (currently ranked 16th in the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll).

After Calipari and Kentucky parted ways, he was quickly hired by an SEC rival, Arkansas, and given a blank slate to build his roster. He brought three contributors from Kentucky with him: a 7-foot-2 sophomore big man with a three-point stroke (Zvonimir Ivisic), a 6-foot-8 junior forward and all-around glue guy (Adou Thiero) and one of his recent prized recruits in 6-foot-3 sophomore guard (D.J. Wagner). 

Wagner had an up-and-down freshman season sharing guard duties with three 2024 NBA Draft picks (Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham and Antonio Reeves). If he can improve his jumper, he has the talent to be one of the best point guards in the SEC.

Calipari also landed two stud transfers: FAU legend Johnell Davis and All-SEC Tennessee big man Jonas Aidoo. 

Davis, a 6-foot-4 wing who helped lead FAU on a magical Final Four run in 2023, won the American Athletic Conference’s Player of the Year Award last season after averaging 18.2 PPG and 6.3 RPG with 48-41-86 shooting splits. He’ll be surrounded by more talent every game in the SEC, so expect the fifth-year senior to still be one of the go-to guys. 

The 6-foot-11 Aidoo excelled during SEC play last season, averaging 13.3 PPG and 8.3 RPG and shooting 54.7 percent from the field. He will bring interior toughness when the guards’ shots aren’t falling. 

Arkansas will also feature two mega-athletic, future NBA forwards to use on both ends of the court in returning senior Trevon Brazile and McDonald’s All-American freshman Karter Knox. Brazile flirted with going to the NBA this offseason before opting to return. He must show a little more consistency to go with his elite athleticism. 

Karter Knox, the brother of former Kentucky star Kevin Knox, projects to be a tenacious competitor and three-level scorer immediately at the college level.

But we’ve buried the lede in all of this because the main reason the Razorbacks are a threat to cut down the nets in April is a 6-foot-2 freshman combo guard from the Bronx: Boogie Fland. Fland was a four- or five-star combo guard (depending on which high school rating service you look at), but you only need to see his highlights once from Arkansas’ victorious scrimmage against top-ranked Kansas from late October to realize that he’s going to be one of the best guards in the country this season.

In a scrimmage that featured one of the more experienced point guards in college basketball (Dajuan Harris Jr., and other future NBA players), Fland was easily the best player on the court, scoring 22 points, dishing out five assists and making six steals.

Fland looked like he was playing at a different speed than the rest of the players — his anticipation on the defensive end was particularly impressive as he ran through passing lanes all game. And Fland’s ability to get wherever he wanted on the court and create space to get shots off whenever he needed to had commentator Seth Greenberg comparing him to Kyrie Irving. 

If Fland is going to be that kind of player all season, everything is on the table for the Razorbacks — an SEC title, a Final Four appearance and even a national championship.