Flau’Jae Johnson Is Leading The Next Generation Of Hoopers

BATON ROUGE – Flau’jae Johnson is one of the most known names in women’s college hoops. Not only is she a student athlete, she’s also a rapper. Some fans may have first  met her on season 3 of VH1’s “The Rap Game.” It was there where she became a fan favorite because of her humility, and rap skills. Now she’s gotten a new set of fans, and it’s all because of her skills on the basketball court.

 Affectionately known as “Big 4,” Johnson says she knew for a while that she wanted to play for Kim Mulkey. She was among one of the first to commit to the new look LSU, and was all about business when the time came. 

“I was the first person to really come here and say, alright I’m going to take a chance and come. Then we got big transfers and the pieces fell together.”

Flau’jae received SEC Freshman of the year honors for the 2022-23 season. Her game continues to improve. Last season she averaged 11 ppg, this season she’s at 14.3ppg. Those are great numbers, considering her incredibly talented teammates.

“Any night Angel {Reese} could go for 30, Aneesah {Morrow} could go for 30, Hailey {Van Lith} could go for 30, Mikaylah {Wiiliams}  could go for 30.”

Although those are some big names on the roster, the LSU Tigers were met with some struggles this season. They opened the season with a 92-78 loss to the University of Colorado. A defeat that immediately had hoops fans chatting. “Are the defending champs not as good as a season ago?”  

The Tigers went on a 16 game win streak before losing in a nail biter to Auburn. They would later drop back to back losses before heading into the tournament championship. They finished the regular season with a 30-5 overall record and only 3 losses in the conference. “Big 4,” is used to playing conference games, but she may enjoy playing out of conference competition more.

“I want to play a team in the Pac-12. It doesn’t matter what team. I mean we had Colorado earlier so I definitely want that rematch. I want to see more of the Pac-12 this year because they’re hoopin’ right now.”

It’s all in a competitive spirit, but Flau’jae definitely leans into her mentor and leader role heavily. Her main thing is making sure the freshmen understand that she’s always a positive voice for them. She enjoys giving pep talks, showing them the ropes and helping to boost their confidence. Johnson mentioned that former LSU great and 4x WNBA Champion Seimone Augustus gave her a lot of great advice that she often hones in on. 

Although her main focus right now is winning another national title with her teammates, Flau’jae has many other business endeavors as well. From being one of the top NIL earners in college sports, to her rap career, and now an advisor for the Overtime Select league. Overtime Select will feature elite high school-aged women’s basketball players. This will take place during the Summer, which is the off season for college hoops. However, Flau’jae says she has some great workouts to look forward to.

“NBA trainers and players also reached out to me and said I want to workout with you in the Summer.”

But right now, it’s all business for Johnson, as she and her team are just 3 games away from potentially playing for another National Championship title. The journey continues Saturday at 1 p.m. EST on ESPN.