BB Recruiting
2024 Five-Star Guard Boogie Fland Commits to Kentucky
Published
2 months agoon
While fan anticipation is building as the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team will play their annual Blue-White game on Saturday and is just weeks away from kicking off the season, there was some big recruiting news on Friday.
Top 20 prospect and Kentucky’s highest-ranked guard target, Boogie Fland, announced his decision, committing to Kentucky over Alabama and Indiana.
Heading into the decision, momentum was with Kentucky, after the staff went all in over the closing weeks. However, the recruitment was held very close to the chest and confidence was not high. Many analysts compared Fland’s recruitment to the recent recruitment of Ian Jackson, who spurred Kentucky at the last second for North Carolina (and may still go to St. John’s with Rick Pitino). But unlike Ian Jackson, the Wildcats were able to secure the commitment as the New York talent wanted to play on the stage that is Kentucky basketball.
At 6-2, 170 pounds, Fland needs to add weight to his frame, but he is certainly skilled. With a well-rounded and exciting game, Fland can play either guard spot. He has the ability to score from all three levels, creating his own shot, but is quick to say “Scoring isn’t everything,” and likes to get his teammates involved. If you are looking for a comparison, one player he likes to model his game from is former Wildcat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Fland joins four-star big Somto Cyril as the two commits for Kentucky in the 2024 class. With Fland’s commitment, Kentucky jumped from 51st up to 17th in the 247Sports team class rankings.
As for the remainder of the 2024 class, Kentucky was recently cut from Top 5 prospect Tre Johnson’s list, but Karter Knox (the younger brother of former Cat Kevin Knox) just included the Cats among his four finalists earlier this week. Kentucky is also believed to be at the top of the list, if not the favorites, for Jayden Quaintance and Billy Richmond.
That said, given the 2024 class is relatively weak, the staff may look harder in the transfer portal this year, or even get creative with a reclassification or international prospect.
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BB Recruiting
Chin Coleman Talks About Kentucky’s 2024 Recruiting Class
Published
2 days agoon
December 4, 2023Kentucky basketball assistant coach Chin Coleman recently spoke with the media. While talking about the game, Coleman was asked about Kentucky’s current signees in the 2024 class, which now sits No. 2 overall, all of whom signed this in the early signing period.
Somto Cyril
“A freak of nature, Coleman says. He says he has to get better with his skill-set, but that he does things that no one else in the world can do: “He’s a freak of nature. Obviously, he’s gotta get better with his skill set, right, but he does things that no one in the world could do, not even guys in the NBA could do some of the stuff that he does in terms of pure shot-blocker, pure vertical spacer. He gets way over the rim, and that gives you something that a lot of teams don’t have.”
Boogie Fland
With Boogie Fland, he says he’s the best point guard in the country, and that he is expecting to give the keys to him when he arrives: “You talk about Boogie, who’s the best point guard in the country,” Coleman said. “We got the best, in Boogie, and we’re expecting Boogie to come in here and have the keys to the Lamborghini and drive it the right way.”
Jayden Quaintance
Talking about Jayden Quaintance, Coleman calls him a “prodigy”: “You have a prodigy, who is probably–arguably one of the best players in the country regardless of class. ’24, ’25, it doesn’t matter,” Coleman said. “He too has some force and some physicality, but he’s very, very, very, skilled. He’s 6-10 245-250, and he plays like a guard,” Coleman said. “The crazy thing about it is, two years, think about that. Jayden Quaintance for two years, that’s unheard of.”
Travis Perry
Coleman also dove in on Travis Perry, saying, “Hometown kid. His parents obviously share some relationships with the university. All he knows is blue. He wanted to go here no matter how many people recruited him. This is where he wanted to be.”
On the recruiting class as a whole, he calls it a “unique” class that is different in its own way. Kentucky is on a hot streak in the 2024 class and beyond, and doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon.
Check out Coleman’s answer in the video below!
Chin Coleman talks about each Kentucky commit in the 2024 class, as it currently stands.
Somto Cyril: “A freak of nature… He does things no one in the world can do, in terms of pure shot blocking, vertical spacing.”
Boogie Fland: “The best point guard in the country… We… pic.twitter.com/rGTG1PPvNh— Tristan Pharis (@TristanUda) November 16, 2023
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BB Recruiting
Kentucky Targets Play In Made Hoops Derek Smith Invitational
Published
2 days agoon
December 4, 2023The city of Louisville had some of the nation’s top high school prospects in town this weekend at Saint Xavier High School for the Made Hoops Derek Smith Invitational. A few of the nation’s top high school teams were there as well, and they featured some very notable names.
Headlined by 2024 Kentucky signee Jayden Quaintance, who did not play in the event, there were a few major Kentucky targets in Louisville this weekend. The top player of 2025, AJ Dybantsa, who is a generational talent, put up a great game against Link Academy on Saturday, which features 2026 Texas signee Tre Johnson and 2025 Top-15 prospect Jasper Johnson.
Dybantsa finished with 25 points, and his teammate, 2026 Top prospect Tyran Stokes, is another major Kentucky target. He had 12 points. Jasper Johnson ended with 10 points for Link Academy, coming up short in the loss to Prolific Prep.
AJ Dybantsa went off last night! Dropped 26 in Prolific Prep’s win over #2 Link Academy 😤 @ADybantsa @ProlificPrep @madehoops pic.twitter.com/737Hy6Dc7P— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) December 3, 2023
Sunday featured Prolific Prep vs. St. Xavier, where Dybantsa struggled, but Tyran Stokes made up for it. Dybantsa is known as an athletic finisher, who is long and can really score. That wasn’t clicking on Sunday. Instead, it was Stokes who was playing very aggressively attacking the basket. He even threw down a few monster dunks. Stokes had a full head of steam attacking the rim all day. Kentucky’s staff was in attendance. 5⭐️ Tyran Stokes just dropped a 20 ball with Coach Calipari & Kentucky staff in the crowd. 🚨👀@madehoops @tyran_stokes pic.twitter.com/yfu8m9bKtY— SLAM HS Hoops (@SLAM_HS) December 3, 2023
Dybantsa spoke after the game on Sunday to talk about Kentucky and what it means to him to be offered by Kentucky.
“It’s a blessing,” he said. “High-major school, you know, multiple NBA players, a lot of college championships.” He spoke about playing with other elite talent right now, and eventually at the next level, “I know how to blend well. I know how to get my teammates involved.”
Dybantsa also went on to about what he is looking for his role to be at the next level: “Like a point forward or just play shooting guard at my height.” He then talked about things he has to do to be his best at the next level: “Get all my ball-handling right, limit turnovers, and just making the right passes.”
Dybantsa is a generational talent, and there was a lot of talent this weekend in Louisville. A notable win from the weekend was Fredrick Douglass’ close win against St. Frances, who is a nationally known team. A lot to like about this weekend in Louisville.
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BB Recruiting
Kentucky Offers “Prodigy” and No. 1 Prospect AJ Dybantsa
Published
6 days agoon
November 30, 2023After extending an offer to its top prospect in the class of 2026 in Tyran Stokes, Kentucky has offered 2025 forward AJ Dybantsa, who is arguably the best player in high school basketball, regardless of class. I’m blessed to receive an offer from the University of Kentucky! Go Wildcats💙🤍 pic.twitter.com/xd8dsDmzA6— AJ Dybantsa (@ADybantsa) November 21, 2023
At just sixteen years old, Dybantsa is considered a generational talent who already has every high-major coach in awe over his play. He has a long list of high-major teams who have already offered him in addition to Kentucky, including North Carolina, Michigan, Alabama, Baylor, Auburn, and Texas among others.
While Dybantsa is far from a decision, Kentucky is certainly in a good position. Already having ties to his Nike EYBL team, Expressions Elite, Dybantsa was inspired by the late Wildcat Terrence Clarke. He talked about how close he was to Clarke with CBS Sports. “That was basically my cousin,” Dybantsa told CBS Sports. “We’re not related, but that was basically my cousin. Every time I seen him, I was little bro to him.”
What kind of player is Dybantsa? He stands 6-foot-9, 200 pounds, and is a phenomenal open-floor scorer with a bag full of tricks to create for himself. He can make threes, but still dominate with his back to the basket and he’s a terrifying cutter that plays above the rim. Oh, and he’s unselfish.
In short, he has a versatile foundation and an NBA All-Star ceiling as he continues to develop his skill set and physically. This past summer, Dybantsa’s profile was raised as the best of the NBA began to take notice, training with the likes of Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Chris Paul. If you haven’t, you should take notice too.
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