Senior guard Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (24) capped an outstanding career at Charleston Southern by scoring 20.1 points and grabbing 7.4 rebounds per game, in addition to being a holy terror on the defensive end.
Harry Fodder: How Phlandrous Fleming Jr. Fits in
Tuesday, April 20, 2021 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The last of the four transfers to join the Florida program just might loom as the most intriguing.
He was certainly the most productive at his previous stop.
Phlandous Fleming, a 6-foot-4, 210-pounder from Athens, Ga., was a star 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 literally saved his best for last, both in the small and big picture. In his final appearance as a Buccaneer, Fleming bombed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to defeat Presbyterian (his third game-winning shot of the season, and second in the last two weeks). The play culminated a 2020-21 season when he averaged 20.1 points on 39.5 percent from the floor, 32 percent from distance, 80.6 from the free-throw line, plus 7.5 rebounds, and was named first-team All-Big South and the league's 2021 Defensive Player of the Year.
Fleming played 101 games at CSU, started 86 and scored 1,510 points. He scored at least 25 points five times this times season and at least 30 three times. Now he'll use his NCAA and COVID-19 option fifth year to play for the Gators. And he will help.
During his four seasons in the Big South, Phlandous Fleming was a one of the league's best scorers, but also developed a reputation for getting fired up on the floor
The Gators lost an outstanding, go-get-a-bucket guy in first-team All-Southeastern Conference guard Tre Mann (16.0 points per game, 45.9 percent floor, 40.2 from 3), who figures to be the first UF player taken in the NBA Draft in eight years. Their best 3-point shooter, junior Noah Locke (10.6 ppg, 40.4 percent from 3), transferred to Louisville. So the Gators needed to replace some proven scoring commodities on the perimeter. They appeared to do so after landing Kansas-City Missouri guard Brandon McKissic (17.2 ppg) and Penn State's guard Myreon Jones (15.1 ppg), but Fleming is another gifted scorer to roll into a mix alongside presumptive starting point guard Tyree Appleby, who will be back for his fifth-year senior season.
Fleming is also an elite on-ball defender and rebounder from the backcourt.
Mann was one of the two. Locke, candidly, was neither.
Now, Fleming carved out something of a reputation during his four seasons in the Big South of being an excitable guy on the floor; someone who tends to put his emotions on display. That's probably the competitor in him and there's nothing wrong with that. CSU had a bunch of injuries this past season and Fleming was counted on to do a lot of everything ... which he did. Nonetheless, the Florida coaches talk constantly about moving on to the next play. Fleming will hear plenty about that, but a little more emotion (controlled, of course) between the lines may not be a bad thing for a UF program that has played often stoically the last couple seasons.
The best part of the Fleming package, though, are those points, rebounds and defensive highlights.
