It was senior night, so Johnuel “Boogie” Fland knew his emotions would run high. And it was before the dawn of day. The day was taken to a whole other level.
He was in class that morning when the text appeared. It was John Calipari. I’m coming to the game today. Knowing that the guy who had just recruited him would be in the building, the Arkansas commit suddenly had more motivation for that night’s game. “My family was there, my future head coach was there, and just for him to show up like that was pretty special,” Fland said. “I just wanted to put on a show.”
It all hit harder in the gym that night. “I was tearing up before the game, and when I saw them honoring me for making the McDonald’s All American Team, the tears came,” he says. Fland immediately made it clear after the game that the sense of occasion won’t stop him from performing at the level that made him a top-20 recruit and arguably one of the best guards in the 2024 class. Line: 29 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals to lead his Archbishop Stepinac (NY) team to the senior games.
Then his only slight disappointment? “Man, I was trying to get 50,” Fland says. “I was closed.”
It was a dominant but not surprising showing from Flanders, a 6-3, 175-pound, Bronx-born guard who checks all the boxes for an elite floor general. Explosive and in control, he dictates the pace as a scorer and playmaker, a skill made clear by the players whose games he tries to emulate; everyone from LeBron and SGA to Ja Morant, Tyrese Maxey, and Immanuel Quickley. It includes one of the most unstoppable strokes in the game to perfect the job.
“If you go on YouTube and search for my name, you’ll see a flashback as a thumbnail. “Just look at how far back I am,” he says. “I’m so fast, they’re trying to play the shot and the drive, and when I see them play the drive, it’s easy for me to break away and get back.”
The road that took Fland from the Bronx to White Plains (where Stepinak is based) and will see him in Lexington leading a usually loaded Wildcat recruiting class next winter included many stops that allowed him to showcase his skills and high the potential. . He has been among the best hoopers at his age level for as long as anyone can remember. “When I was in, I think second grade, we were the top 25 in the country,” he says of his AAU team. “Yes, second grade, but it was something for us.”
A few years later, he led his AAU team to the national championship game, where he missed what could have been the game-winning shot. “That moment taught me that, you know, there are going to be downs,” he says now. “I was so used to winning. It was an eye opener for me. It taught me that I have to get better.”
The improvement really hasn’t stopped, as he’s shown time and time again against elite competition. He was a member of the USA U17 team that won gold at the 2022 FIBA World Cup and was selected to join the USA roster for the 2024 Nike Hoop Summit. With that resume, where else can he improve? “Before Coach Cal left on senior night, he said I need to talk more, be more vocal. it helps everybody on the floor and it helps me.”
It shouldn’t be too hard. Fland brings the same energy to every court he steps on, his Bronx roots always on display.
“New York is different. When people say that, it’s definitely true,” he affirms emphatically. “You have to shout for yourself a little bit. You can’t be tough. When you walk into the gym, they need to know. Oh, he’s from New York.»
Portrait by Marcus Stevens.
