Recruitment Post-Mortem: Boogie Fland

Boogie Fland has committed to Kentucky, per his announcement this afternoon. Fland chose the Wildcats over Alabama and Indiana. He joins four-star center Somto Cyril in the Cats’ 2024 class.

For the first time, we’re going to peel back the layers and give you some insight on what we were hearing at various stages of this recruitment.

Prediction Criteria

Let’s start with the day we logged our prediction for Liam McNeeley to commit to Indiana.

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— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan) September 25, 2023

The threshold to release a prediction for a recruit of that magnitude is fairly high. We need multiple, credible sources to confirm before feeling comfortable enough to run with it. With McNeeley, we had our best independent high school recruiting source, one source connected to Indiana and two other sources connected to other teams involved in the recruitment. Two weeks is a long time from gif to commitment, but our sources were unwavering despite a late attempt to flip by Bill Self.

Indiana fans were in full meltdown mode in my DMs today, but it’s Arkansas fans that should’ve been the ones worrying.

— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan) September 28, 2023

Fland’s Recruitment

We’ll pick up Fland’s recruitment with the day he cut his list to three.

NEWS: 2024 five-star PG Boogie Fland tells me he’s officially cut his list of schools down to three — Kentucky, Indiana, and Alabama.

The NY native is no longer considering UNC, UConn, St. John’s, Maryland, and Michigan. https://t.co/SPbY1TcVBM pic.twitter.com/NIhu56NJLs

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) September 29, 2023

At this point, similar sources from McNeeley’s recruitment were indicating Indiana was the leader for Fland, with Kentucky also in the mix. We were hearing similar responses from some additional sources based out of New York City. They also shared that Fland had no interest in staying home, which is why St. John’s was eliminated. Multiple sources connected to Alabama confirmed the Tide were already starting to fade. When asked to handicap the recruitment, we relayed that message.

Indiana +135
Kentucky +140
Alabama +240 https://t.co/fYiQZua5NF

— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan) October 3, 2023

The following day, we received more promising intel for Indiana and were told they were starting to separate themselves in the recruitment. That sentiment was echoed by a handful of Kentucky based sources, which led to the tweet below.

https://t.co/wrBhfZcCnw

— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan) October 4, 2023

The positive Indiana sentiment continued the next day, when we were informed of an announcement timeline from both the Indiana and independent high school sources. They both accurately predicted the timeline for McNeeley, so we felt comfortable starting a countdown to October 16, with a subtle nod to Indiana.

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— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan) October 5, 2023

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— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan) October 7, 2023

The Decision

When October 16 arrived, we were met with an announcement for the announcement. Boogie was set to commit that day, but logistical issues pushed it back to the 20th, per multiple sources.

NEWS: 5⭐️ Boogie Fland, the No. 1 ranked point guard in the 2024 class, will announce his college decision on Friday, Oct. 20th, per his coach.

Finalists: Kentucky, Indiana, and Alabama. https://t.co/8rK54bM3TC pic.twitter.com/OyuSzrGm5V

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) October 16, 2023

By this time, the Indiana based sources remained confident. They had accurately given us the timeline again and still considered themselves out in front. At this point, we were very close to releasing a prediction.

A message from one of our sources in New York on Tuesday of this week gave us pause. We were told there was a split decision in his camp and this would come down to the wire. By Wednesday, our Indiana sources started to waiver.

On Thursday afternoon, we received word from our best independent high school source that Kentucky would be the choice. By Thursday night, our Indiana sources told us the staffs were informed of the decision.

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— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan) October 20, 2023

Ultimately, we believe John Calipari’s history of sending guards to the NBA was the difference. Mike Woodson’s New York ties and recent success in developing pros made this a 50/50 decision until the very end. If you would’ve asked us a week ago, Indiana would’ve been the prediction.

Kentucky is far from done with their 2024 class. They’re still in the mix for a handful of five-star prospects including Jayden Quaintance, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond. We expect the Wildcats to land at least one of those players.

Indiana now turns their focus to big man Derik Queen. Queen visits Maryland this weekend – the perceived favorite in the recruitment. Indiana has come a long way very quickly in the Mike Woodson era. They will continue to compete for elite talent with him at the helm.

Follow @trillydonovan on X (Twitter). Stay tuned to burnerball.com to keep up with all things coaching carousel and transfer portal.

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