Graduate transfer guard/forward Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (24) was two-time Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year during 1,510-point career at Charleston Southern.
'Our Fans Haven't Seen How Good He Is'
Monday, November 22, 2021 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Five days before Florida opened the 2021-22 season, Phlandrous Fleming Jr. get his feet tangled awkwardly during practice and felt a strain high up his leg. It turned out to be a groin strain that limited him to non-contact work at practice the next four days and kept him out of the starting lineup for UF's first game.
Instead, Fleming came off the bench against Elon to score four points and grab a couple rebounds in 17 minutes. Midway through the second half, with the Gators up 20, Fleming went to trainer Dave Werner and said he was done for the game. There was no need to push with a huge date against No. 20 Florida State up next.
The night before UF faced FSU the flu bug that flattened athletes across campus hit Fleming like a blindside backcourt pick.
"I was so weak. My head was killing me, I couldn't eat anything and was throwing up all night," he said. "There was no way I was going to play."
So convinced was Fleming, in fact, that he called his family toldnot to bother making to the trip from Athens, Ga.
They didn't come, so they didn't see Fleming, fresh after being flushed with IVs before the game, come off the bench to score nine points and grab five rebounds in 21 energetic minutes of Florida's 71-65 victory. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound swingman neither took part in the early morning shoot-around, nor warmed up with his teammates before the game. Fleming took his marching orders from Werner and, though not close to 100 percent, was rested, rejuvenated ready to provide whatever he could.
Phlandrous Fleming Jr. shook off the flu and provided some huge moments (and buckets) in Florida's big win over Florida State.
Then came 12 points, two rebounds and two assists over 19 minutes Thursday night against Milwaukee, as Fleming inched closer to being full go. He still won't be there when the Gators (3-0), who jumped to No. 24 in the Associated Press rankings last week, face California (2-2) in Monday night's first-round of the Fort Myers Tip-off, but Fleming has made it more than clear that whatever he is able to give is something his team wants. And needs.
"We get 110 percent off Phlan no matter of it's 'Sick Phlan,' 'Groin Phlan' or 'Whatever Phlan,' " fellow grad-transfer Brandon McKissic said. "There's a lot more coming, you just wait. That's a bad dude, right there."
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
He'll probably be a bit of a mad dude Monday, as well.
Fleming was the Georgia Class 5A Player of the Year at Athens Cedar Shoals High, averaging 21 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks per game in leading his teaml to the state title game as a senior. He grew up five miles from the University of Georgia, but Fleming went un-recruited by the Bulldogs and wound up signing with Charleston Southern. The Georgia coach at the time was Mark Fox.
Yes, the same Mark Fox who will be coaching against the Gators Monday night.
"I don't have vendetta against him," Fleming said. "But I might have a little bit of a chip on my shoulder for this game."
That would surprise no one who knows him.
"Phlan will create a chip if there isn't a chip," UF assistant Erik Pastrana said. "He's wired like that. I mean, if the janitor in the opposing gym looks at him funny during shoot-around he would take it personally and into the next [game]."
Fleming's attitude helped make for massive production at Charleston Southern, where he became just the second player in program history to tally at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 steals and 50 blocked shots. He finished his stellar career with the Buccaneers at 1,510 points and twice was named the Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He also won just 40 of his 108 games (the Bucs went 3-18 last season), and thus went searching for a shot at the NCAA Tournament with his free COVID season pass.
Phlandrous Fleming Jr. was a high-flyer during his record-setting career at Charleston Southern.
Fleming was the last of the four Division-I transfers to land with Florida, in the end picking the Gators over Arkansas.
"He's exactly what we thought he would be," UF coach Mike White said.
In terms of demeanor and buying into the veteran Gators' revamped culture — 91.6 percent of UF's points (207 of 226) have been scored by seniors or graduates a year after the program had no seniors on the roster — Fleming has been a perfect fit, for sure.
He just hasn't been able to unleash his jack-of-all-trades game — "They guy is a Swiss army knife," Pastrana said — because of his health mishaps to date. On the positive side, they've been minor; on the even more positive side, they're almost gone, which means his ability to be a shot-maker, rebound down from the guard spot and defend (if needed) all five positions has only scratched the surface in his short time wearing a Florida uniform.
Here's the rub: He's cool with that.
"I'm very happy with where we are because winning is my total focus," Fleming said. "All the guys are playing really good. I just want to be a contributor to that, any way I can."
His story is one that is similar to that of fellow-transfers McKissic (Missouri-Kansas City), Anthony Duruji (Louisiana Tech), Tyree Appleby (Cleveland State), Myreon Jones (Penn State) or CJ Felder (Boston College). They were big-time players at their previous programs, but didn't win. They came to Florida for that individual, personal change, but now it's a collective mindset.
"We're not taking nothing for granted," Fleming said. "We're not going to look at anybody and say, 'Hey, we're Florida.' We're going to play like the hungry guys we are."
And it's only a matter of time, maybe only a matter of days, that he'll be able to feast like "Healthy Phlan."
"Our fans haven't seen how good he is or how crazy competitive he is," White said. "They will."
