"Don't know what we'll do going forward": John Calipari gives unfortunate update on Boogie Fland as Missouri dismantles Arkansas

Arkansas Razorbacks freshman Boogie Fland is one of the standout rookies in college basketball this 2024-2025 season, but he just suffered a significant setback. The first-year guard posted one of his worst statlines of the campaign in his team's 83-65 defeat against the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, where Fland had just four points on a lowly 2-for-13 shooting along with four boards and six assists.

It's been said that Fland had received a hand injury in the Razorbacks' last SEC fixture. During the post-game presser, coach John Calipari gave more context towards what exactly happened to Fland but he asserted that the plans ahead for him are still uncertain.

"Boogie's hand, he fell in the game at our place against Florida. Billy (Richmond III) jumped on him so his hand is pretty bad. (I) don't know what we'll do going forward. We gotta make sure we get that thing right," Calipari shared. (0:30)

The game that Calipari was referring to where Fland got his hand tangled up was Arkansas's tight 78-74 loss to the LSU Tigers on Tuesday, Jan. 14. The Bronx, New York native had a better outing of 19 markers, one rebound, five dimes and a steal but did shoot just 35.3% from the field — which could also be attributed to him not being 100% healthy.

There is no clear indication yet if Fland will be taking a closer look at his potential injury and if he'll be sitting out any games. But, for a team who's still winless in conference play with a 0-5 record, Calipari and the Razorbacks will need all the help they can get especially from their young spitfire scorer.

For now, Fland can be considered as a game time decision for Arkansas's next game against the No. 23-ranked Georgia Bulldogs at home, where they aim to finally get a conference dub and add to their 11-7 overall record.

John Calipari calls on the rest of his Razorbacks to play well if Boogie Fland is sidelined

Both Boogie Fland and John Calipari are in their first year with the Arkansas Razorbacks, with the former coming from high school while the latter starting off things with his new team to coach. As such, Fland's impact on Arkansas is unparalleled as Calipari called on the rest of the team to try and fill the void if the 18-year-old sits out the next slew of conference fixtures.

"We got nine guys. If Boogie's out for a while, we may have eight guys. Guess what those eight guys got to do? Play well, all of them. You can't have four of the eight and get a dud...I was talking be free and loose on offense," he said. (6:40)

On the campaign, Fland is averaging the second highest point average for Arkansas at 15.7, while also contributing 3.4 caroms, 5.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game. If he'll be tending to his injury, guards such as D.J. Wagner Jr. and Johnell Davis will need to step up.