John Calipari, Arkansas basketball players get new Boogie Fland injury notice

In John Caliparifirst season as head coach, Arkansas basketball has fallen well short of expectations. The Razorbacks are 0-5 in SEC play after a five-game losing streak. The Razorbacks’ final result might have been the worst of all: an 83-65 loss at Missouri, where Calipari’s club started the game in an 18-2 hole.

After that game, Calipari found out Star running back Boogie Fland had a hand injury that he’s been dealing with since Arkansas’ loss to Florida on Jan. 11 and that the injury didn’t look good. Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, those fears were confirmed on Tuesday. Flanders will miss the rest of the season with that hand injury, according to John Rothstein of CBS Sports.

Fland is Arkansas’ second leading scorer at 15.1 points per game, but is arguably its most important offensive player. Fland is the go-to creator for Calipari and company and is averaging a team-high 5.7 assists per game, so the Razorbacks will have a huge punch on that end of the floor.

Without Fland, it’s hard for this Arkansas team to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It already looked like the pieces didn’t quite fit together in Calipari’s first year, and now he’ll have to work without one of his most talented and productive players.

Who has to go to Arkansas without Boogie Fland?

Without Boogie Fland, Arkansas will have a huge fight to get back into the picture in the SEC. The Razorbacks will certainly lean more heavily on leading scorer Adou Thier and fellow Kentucky transfer DJ Wagner, but there is one player who will need to seriously step up his game for this team moving forward.

Florida Atlantic transfer Jonelle Davis has been one of the best players in the country over the past few seasons and was a big reason the Owls reached the Final Four in 2023. Davis was one of the most coveted players on the transfer portal and a big reason Arkansas found itself in the many preseason polls among 25 of the best.

On the floor, Davis has been one of the biggest disappointments in the country. Despite playing more than 28 minutes a night, Davis is averaging just 8.3 points per game and shooting just 40.9% from the field. Davis was unable to pick his spots effectively and looked uncomfortable mostly on the offensive end of the floor.

Now, Davis has to step up and play like he used to with Fland out of the lineup. The former March Madness hero averaged more than 18 points per game last season, and Calipari and company will hope to see more of that from Davis the rest of the season.