Top 5 transfer portal targets for Arkansas head coach John Calipari as Boogie Fland makes NBA draft announcement

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament West Regional-Arkansas at Texas Tech - Source: Imagn

Head coach John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks are out of March Madness but not before going on an impressive run. As a No. 10 seed, the Razorbacks pulled off two upsets to reach the Sweet 16, including a 75–66 win over No. 2 St. John's in the second round. They were eventually eliminated 85–83 in overtime by No. 3 Texas Tech.

While it was a good run, Calipari and his coaching staff cannot stay stagnant this offseason. Their second-leading scorer, Boogie Fland, declared for the 2025 NBA draft. As a result, the team needs to replace him. These are five possible targets for the team.

Top 5 transfer portal targets for Arkansas head coach John Calipari as Boogie Fland declares for the NBA draft

#1 Rodney Rice

Maryland shooting guard Rodney Rice is one of the best guards left in the transfer portal. He would be an excellent replacement for Boogie Fland in Arkansas. He averaged 13.8 points per game this season and was one of the most dangerous scorers in the Big Ten in the season's second half.

#2 KJ Lewis

KJ Lewis is an interesting option for Arkansas because he was a sixth man rather than a starter for Arizona. Despite this, he averaged 10.8 ppg and played excellent defense. John Calipari could bring him into the team to become a shutdown defender in the team's starting lineup.

#3 Jalil Bethea

If Arkansas wants to bring in a player with a high upside, Jalil Bethea is the best option. Although he was a top 10 recruit in 2024, he did not hit his stride in Miami. As a result, he is in the transfer portal and could learn a lot from head coach John Calipari if he joins the Razorbacks.

#4 Lamar Wilkerson

Sam Houston's Lamar Wilkerson earned first-team All-Conference USA honors this past season. His best attribute is his shooting ability. He shot the ball at a 44.5% rate from behind the 3-point arc last season. Wilkerson could be a good addition if Calipari wants a different look in his offense.

#5 Blake Harper

Howard's Blake Harper could be a good addition for the Arkansas Razorbacks. He was named the MEAC Player of the Year in his freshman season and appears ready to play against higher-quality competition. With Boogie Fland gone, Harper would be a great option to compensate for some missing scoring.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by Abhimanyu Gupta