GREENVILLE, S.C. — LSU runs so deeply through Flau’jae Johnson’s identity that her bearded dragon is buried on campus.
It was a heartbreaking time period ahead of what was otherwise a special freshman season. She’ll never forget where exactly she laid “Four” — the pet named for her jersey number — to rest. She’s also never returned to see it, though she bears in mind he’s always right behind her.
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Eventually, she brought home another bearded dragon, much to the chagrin of teammates inclined more toward fur than scales. Johnson named him “Champ,” an ode to how that year ended with LSU’s first national championship.
It’s that aspect of her freshman year she wants to repeat, adding to a legacy at the school she never left. Johnson is among the rare tier of players to remain at their programs for a full four years amid an annual exodus into the transfer portal often driven by name, image and likeness (NIL) offers. No. 2 seed LSU will host No. 15 Jacksonville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. The Tigers are in the Sacramento 1 regional with No. 1 seed UCLA.
Flau’jae Johnson and Kim Mulkey during senior day at LSU. (Photo by Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images)
(Tyler Kaufman via Getty Images)
They will be Johnson’s final games in an LSU uniform, no matter if she can reach the pinnacle or they fall in the regional final for the third straight season — a feat only the best repeat, even if it’s short of the goal.
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“March is always a good month,” Johnson, a 5-foot-10 guard, said during the SEC tournament. “I love March. The thing is, this is when everyone’s the most focused, and you just got to rely on your work.”
There’s reason behind the confidence. Johnson began daily morning film studies with associate head coach Bob Starkey this season to watch recent games, old games and film on upcoming opponents. The appointments used to be three times a week. The WNBA first-round draft prospect fits in extra workouts around rap sessions and NIL commitments detailed on a planner that looks “ridiculous.”
Kate Koval, a transfer from Notre Dame, remembered initially showing up at the gym campus to get shots up, only to find Johnson working out already. MiLayshia Fulwiley, who played Johnson’s LSU teams three times before transferring from South Carolina, initially spotted from afar how her grit and motor inspired teammates.
“Some days when we’re tired and everyone isn’t really trying to do the extra work, she does it, and it kind of makes everyone else do it,” Fulwiley said. “She’s an amazing leader; an amazing player.”
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Izzy Besselman, the only other member of the 2023 national title team still rostered, has the most experience in how Johnson pushes teammates since they arrived on campus together.
“Seeing how hard she works motivates me and everybody else in this locker room,” Besselman told Yahoo Sports after LSU’s quarterfinal blowout of Oklahoma. “It’s a good person to look up to.”
The following afternoon, the post-game locker room mood shifted from exuberance to stagnant silence. Besselman, Johnson and junior Mikaylah Williams — LSU’s longest tenured players — sat in a row in the front corner following yet another loss to South Carolina. The Gamecocks extended their winning streak over LSU to 19 consecutive games, meaning none of them have ever toppled the powerhouse. Johnson and Besseman will leave the Tigers having never played in the SEC tournament title game, nor won a conference regular-season title.
Johnson is lost in the box score while Williams speaks on their need for discipline, focus and attention to detail heading into what will be the final games of their season. It has to start with them, the veterans. And especially Johnson, the national champion.
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“This team feeds off the energy,” Johnson said. “When you don’t have the energy, you don’t win. And Coach [Kim] Mulkey shared some things that I really took to heart, so I got to lock in. But it’s nothing that I could say.”
On the press conference dais down the hallway, Kim Mulkey conveys similar sentiments on Johnson’s 1-of-8 performance after a 45.8% season, averaging 13.8 points per game. It’s among the worst games of her career, adding 5 assists, but only 2 rebounds and 3 turnovers. LSU came into it as one of the best teams in second-chance points, but scored only seven, compared to their five-game average of 18.4, according to CBB Analytics. They couldn’t get to the free-throw line or force turnovers.
“You’re not going to have good shooting nights all the time,” Mulkey said. “So go contribute in other ways.”
It’s not easy to play for Mulkey, Johnson told Yahoo Sports’ Hoops 360 earlier this year. That much, most people know, or at least assume with a level of confidence. She is the only person in college basketball history, men’s or women’s, to win national championships as a player, assistant coach and head coach. She’s won four as a head coach, including three at Baylor, making her the first in women’s hoops to win at two programs. The nine-time Hall of Famer is direct and sharp, a “tough love” style that has been polarizing throughout her career.
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Yet, it is precisely why Johnson never considered leaving.
“It could be easier to go into the transfer portal, go to a team with a terrible record and average 30,” Johnson said. “I could do that. I did that in high school. You know what I’m saying? College is not much different. But I want to play with All-Americans. I want to play with a tough coach who won championships. I want to play with people so I can learn how to be efficient. I want to play in positions where it’s not favorable for me and still come out on top. For me, it’s more so, I like to do the hard stuff.”
Johnson craved development. She’s more efficient on more field goal attempts, is a sharper 3-point shooter than in her freshman season, and improved both her assist ratio and turnover ratio. The senior is more adept at creating her own shots, averaging 5 unassisted made field goals per 40 minutes compared to 2.9 as a freshman, which increased her scoring averages.
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For as well-known as she is on the basketball court, she’s as popular off of it. Johnson famously entered LSU as a rising rapper and later signed with Jay Z’s Roc Nation label. Her tracks play at LSU games, a halftime flex noted by fans and opponents. As an initial face of the NIL era, she actively leads all Division I women’s basketball players with 4.12 million followers. It ranks fourth when including male players, per Opendorse. In December 2024, she signed an NIL deal with Unrivaled, the 3×3 league started by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, with the intention of playing once she exhausts collegiate eligibility.
Many around LSU know more about her community contributions that aren’t splattered on her YouTube or Instagram. She was named the inaugural Kay Yow Servant Leader of the year last week for leadership, service and overall impact supporting women and families facing cancer.
The national star pledged $1 for every LSU student in attendance to benefit the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, hosted back-to-school giveback events, made personal donations to mobile mammography access in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia, and provided additional support to families in a myriad of other financial ways.
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“She competes at the highest level, but more importantly, she leads with heart,” Jenny Palmateer, CEO of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, said in a statement. “She understands her platform is bigger than basketball, and she uses it to make a real difference.”
Mulkey said she believes Johnson is one of the best athletes to have played at LSU in part because of her philanthropy, but also for what she did for the program’s trajectory.
“She took a chance on LSU when what did we have to sell?” Mulkey said on senior night. “We just got here, and she was the first McDonald’s All-American that I signed at LSU. The story on Flau’jae will be all those things I just mentioned, but the greatest story of all to me is she stayed four years at LSU and will graduate. When you think of college athletics now, people don’t do it anymore. And she loves LSU, and in return LSU embraced her and loved her back.”
Teammates view it as a loyalty to those who helped make her.
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“Her coming back is just showing the fans that LSU will always have a place in her heart,” Besselman said.
Johnson used to mess with Besselman, telling her to go open a basket in her room, only for an unwanted surprise to peek out: the bearded dragon. It’s how Besselman can best describe her friend’s goofiness and joy, a personality trait those at LSU appreciate, even if they’d rather it not involve the reptile.
Johnson is considering bringing Champ to the gym since teammates bring their dogs to practice. With so much travel upcoming, she considers out loud a mobile reptile habitat. They’ll be on the road, out of LSU soon, no matter what happens in Johnson’s favorite month.
