Florida's Fland sidelined following sports hernia surgery

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida point guard Boogie Fland is recovering from sports hernia surgery, and coach Todd Golden expects the Arkansas transfer to be full speed by the time fall camp begins in September.

Speaking at a booster event Thursday evening, Golden said Fland had surgery July 3 and will be sidelined up to six weeks. He missed the last three weeks of summer workouts.

"He'll be back when school starts," Golden said. "He could have played through it, but it made more sense to get it taken care of so he didn't have to worry about it during the season."

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Fland averaged 13.5 points, 5.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 21 games with the Razorbacks last season. The freshman from New York averaged nearly 32 minutes a game despite missing time with a right thumb injury that required surgery.

He returned for three postseason games before entering the NBA draft. He withdrew his name from consideration before visiting Gainesville and signing with the defending national champions in May.

Fland joined Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee and Ohio University transfer AJ Brown in Golden’s revamped backcourt. The trio is expected to replace Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard. The Gators also lost fellow guard Denzel Aberdeen to Kentucky.

With Golden at the helm for his third season in Gainesville, the Gators finished 36-4 and beat Houston to clinch the program’s third national title. They won their final 12 games, including four in the NCAA Tournament in come-from-behind fashion.