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Boogie Fland

Draft Notes: Gwath, Fland, Niang, M’Madi

April 25th, 2025 at 11:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Magoon Gwath won’t be going through the 2025 NBA draft process after all, having announced this week on Instagram that he’ll withdraw his name from the draft pool and will return to San Diego State for the 2025/26 season.

As Mark Ziegler of The San Diego Union Tribune (subscription required) writes, Gwath’s announcement omitted an important detail — the big man underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee earlier in the week and will face a lengthy recovery period, though head coach Brian Dutcher expects him to be ready for the start of next season.

Gwath, who injured the knee in February and played through it, had a strong freshman season for the Aztecs, averaging 8.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks in 24.9 minutes per game across 26 outings (all starts). The seven-footer was named the Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year for the Mountain West Conference.

Here are a few more draft-related updates:

  • Arkansas freshman Boogie Fland entered the NCAA’s transfer portal prior to this week’s deadline, as Jeff Borzello of ESPN writes. However, Fland remains likely to go pro after declaring for the draft several weeks ago, as ESPN’s Jonathan Givony confirms after interviewing the 18-year-old in New York (Twitter video link)
  • Senegalese wing Saliou Niang, who has been playing for Aquila Basket Trento in Italy, is declaring for the NBA draft, he announced on Instagram. Niang, 21 next month, has averaged 8.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 20.3 minutes per game with a .525/.350/.725 shooting line in 27 domestic league appearances this season.
  • Mathias M’Madi, a 6’5″ guard born in 2005, has filed early entry paperwork for the 2025 draft, reports Jon Chepkevich of Rookie Scale (Twitter link). M’Madi has been playing for the Spanish club CB Morón.
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Draft Notes: Fland, Flagg, Final Four, Burton, Early Entrants

April 4th, 2025 at 5:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Arkansas guard Boogie Fland has announced (via Instagram) that he’s declaring for the 2025 NBA draft. While Fland, who just finished his freshman year with the Razorbacks, has the option of testing the draft waters and retaining his NCAA eligibility, his statement makes no mention of that plan, so it sounds like he’s preparing to go pro.

Fland, who won’t turn 19 until July, appeared in 21 games for Arkansas in his first – and potentially only – college season, averaging 13.5 points, 5.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 31.8 minutes per contest. He made just 37.9% of his field goal attempts, including 34.0% of his three-pointers.

Fland underwent thumb surgery in January that was expected to end his season, but he returned to action for the NCAA Tournament last month. He wasn’t particularly effective in his three games back from the injury though, scoring just 12 total points on 4-of-18 shooting in 53 minutes against Kansas, St. John’s, and Texas Tech.

The 18-year-old ranked 48th overall on the latest 2025 draft big board from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo.

Here are several more draft-related notes:

  • ESPN’s Jeremy Woo spoke to NBA executives and scouts about current and past NBA comparables for projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg and got some interesting responses. Woo zeroes in on five of those players – Jayson Tatum, Kawhi Leonard, Lamar Odom, Scottie Pippen, and Andrei Kirilenko – and outlines the traits Flagg shares with each of them, as well as those he doesn’t.
  • While Duke’s three projected lottery picks (Flagg, Khaman Maluach and Kon Knueppel) will be the headliners of Final Four weekend for NBA evaluators, there are plenty of other prospects to keep an eye on in the showdowns of No. 1 seeds featuring Duke vs. Houston and Florida vs. Auburn. Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports shines a spotlight on several of those players, including Houston guard Milos Uzan, Auburn big man Johni Broome, and Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr.
  • After leading the ACC in scoring as a sophomore, Notre Dame guard Markus Burton has decided to remain with the Fighting Irish for at least one more year rather than entering the transfer portal or testing the draft waters, agent Ron Shade tells ESPN’s Givony (Twitter link).
  • Here are a few more of the prospects who have announced they’re testing the draft waters this spring as early entrants:
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And-Ones: Watanabe, Japan, Risacher, McDonald’s All-Americans, All-Stars

January 25th, 2024 at 10:54pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Japan won its first FIBA World Cup game in 17 years in 2023, and Suns wing Yuta Watanabe was a big part of that team. Watanabe reminisced on his summer in a conversation with HoopsHype’s Sam Yip, expressing optimism for Japan’s future in basketball.

“If I’m going to retire in five, six years in a realistic world, we [are probably] not going to be one of the top teams in the world in five years, but I think at least we will be good enough to compete against those great teams,” Watanabe said. “I mean we did a good job against Germany and Australia in the World Cup. We lost by 20 but we won the second half. I think in five, six years we gonna be there to compete against those teams.”

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • French wing Zaccharie Risacher is making a case to be one of the first players selected in the 2024 draft during a historically productive season, ESPN’s Jeremy Woo writes (ESPN+ link). Risacher boasts a mix of positional size, scoring, play-making, defense and smarts, according to Woo. His physical profile is similar to that of Shane Battier and Ziaire Williams. Woo breaks down the rest of Risacher’s game, explaining why he could go No. 1 overall and considering which teams might make sense for him.
  • The 2024 McDonald’s All-American Game roster was unveiled on ESPN on Tuesday, and it features potential 2025 No. 1 overall picks Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jonathan Givony). Kentucky commit Boogie Fland, Duke commit Isaiah Evans, Washington commit Zoom Diallo and Rutgers commit Dylan Harper are among others featured on the rosters.
  • Ahead of the All-Star starters being unveiled earlier Thursday, The Ringer’s Michael Pina broke down his official starter ballot, as well as who he thinks the reserves should be. Pina voted for Tyrese Haliburton, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic, all of which mirrored the official selections. However, Pina had New York’s Jalen Brunson over Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard on his ballot. He also picked the Lakers’ Anthony Davis and the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard over LeBron James and Phoenix’s Kevin Durant. Check out the rest of his selections here.
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