GAINESVILLE — Johnuel “Boogie” Fland had sufficient dance strikes as a baby his mom bestowed a nickname that has caught.
“I favored to bounce,” he mentioned.
Florida’s 18-year-old sophomore arrived this month after a season at Arkansas able to carry out a backcourt duet with fellow switch Xaivian Lee of Princeton certain to have the Gators dancing once more in March.
Two multi-skilled level guards count on to co-exist seamlessly with out stepping on one another’s toes whereas giving UF a pair of playmakers placing defenses on their heels.
“We’re gonna take this system to the subsequent degree and uphold that commonplace and simply do what we do,” Fland advised reporters Tuesday.
Todd Golden’s Gators reached their sport’s pinnacle with their 65-63 win within the nationwide title recreation on April 7 towards Houston. To have an opportunity to repeat, the reigning nationwide champions needed to rebuild the nation’s finest backcourt, led by All-American Walter Clayton Jr.
Golden quickly landed the 6-foot-4, 180-pound Lee, beating out Kansas and St. John’s for a flexible but extra conventional level guard than the high-scoring Clayton. When 6-foot-2, 175-pound Fland withdrew from the NBA draft in late Could, the Gators proceed their push to get the nation’s sixth-rated switch to Gainesville.
A high recruit in 2024 out of the Bronx, Fland rapidly clicked with Golden when he got here to the Massive Apple amid the draft course of.
“It was really higher than I assumed,” Fland recalled. “I wasn’t actually attempting to take conferences. After I went into the assembly it type of blew my thoughts, and that type of led to the choice.
“I’ve a second dwelling that I can name dwelling.”
A staff with no true level guard in Clayton a season in the past quickly had two gamers who averaged greater than 5 assists in 2024-25.
“You possibly can by no means have an excessive amount of ball-handling,” Golden mentioned. “When you’ve got guys who can dribble, go and shoot you’re going to be actually arduous to protect. With the way in which we play, it’s a must to have steady ball-screen movement, it’s a must to have two or three guys on the market that may make a play, can assault the protection, learn the ball-screen state of affairs.
“I’m excited to see these guys play collectively and see how groups are going to attempt to guard them.”
Lee was keen Tuesday to pair up together with his new backcourt mate throughout Florida’s first staff apply of the summer time.
“Boogie’s mega-talented,” Lee mentioned. “He’s enjoyable to play with and a pleasant man. We’re going to return alongside actually properly. Lots of people are like, ‘How are you going to play collectively?’ However I believe we’re going to enhance one another, assist create for one another just a little bit, get some simpler seems to be.”
Clayton, together with veteran guards Will Richard and Alijah Martin, enhanced one another’s video games to raise the Gators and lead the college to its third nationwide title.
Fland and Lee will push to fill these large sneakers whereas additionally filling up the stat line.
Enjoying for Corridor of Fame coach John Calipari, Fland sat first within the SEC with an assist-to-turnover ratio of three.68 when he tore a ligament in his proper thumb throughout a 71-62 dwelling loss to Florida on Jan. 11 — an harm requiring surgical procedure that sidelined him till the postseason. He ended 2024-25 averaging 13.5 factors, 3.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists.
Lee, a two-time All-Ivy League performer, averaged 16.9 factors, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists final season. However he doesn’t count on his recreation at Princeton to completely translate on a squad well-stock within the entrance court docket with 6-foot-11, 230-pound Alex Condon, 6-foot-10, 260-pound Rueben Chinyelu and 7-foot-1, 255-pound Micah Handlogten.
“I don’t know if I’ll get too many rebounds this 12 months with all of the towers we have now round right here,” Lee joked. “I’ll attempt to stick my nostril in there just a little bit, however simply doing what the staff wants.”
Whereas studying his new teammates and establishing a task, Lee will reunite with Gators rising star Tommy Haugh, a former teammate on the Perkiomen Faculty in Pennsburg, Pa., when every participant was flippantly recruited and within the shadows.
“We went to educate Golden’s home (Monday) for dinner and he drove me again dwelling and we have been like, we wouldn’t imagine it in case you advised us three or 4 years in the past that we’d each be right here enjoying for Florida,” Lee mentioned. “It’s fairly surreal.”
Lee, Fland, Haugh and Co. now purpose to benefit from their time collectively in Gainesville, forge a bond and produce one other memorable season.
“It’s going to be the identical as final 12 months,” Fland mentioned. “All people play with one another, it’s a staff sport, so you’ll be able to’t do it by your self right here. We’re simply going to uphold the usual.”
Edgar Thompson will be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com