LSU were led by Flau’jae Johnson’s 28 points and four assists despite her injury issues.
Johnson, who will turn 22 in November, has become LSU’s big star in the wake of Angel Reese transitioning to the WNBA, but now faces fresh uncertainty over her own future with the progam.
The junior is eligible to enter this year’s WNBA draft despite not having completed a full four college seasons.
However, she has not yet made her decision and said she’d consider ‘everything’ when making the final call.
“Got to talk to Coach [Kim] Mulkey, talk to my family. I don’t know,” she said Sunday.
Speaking to reporters after the Elite Eight defeat to UCLA, Johnson, who had four costly turnovers in the game, added: “First I just want to thank God.
“I feel like this season I went through so much and I really overcame a lot.
“The number one thing is my relationship with God. It got so much better because that’s who I ran to when stuff got hard.
Johnson started crying and wiped the tears away. LSU head coach Kim Mulkey consoled her by putting her arm around her.
“I was able to open up to my teammates,” Johnson went on.
“I was able to open up to Coach Mulkey, and I feel like I became a better person. And I really became a leader, and that’s who I am at heart.
And I want to continue to be a better person. We had success, we made history. I have sisters for life
“There’s a lot to be learned from this. Definitely going to sit back and learn, but gaining so much perspective from this year was beautiful.
“I don’t know. A lot of my turnovers, I don’t think they did anything; they were unforced,” Flau’Jae Johnson pointed out, reflecting on her performance.
“It was on me, but I made bad decisions. I didn’t pass it at the right time. Of course, they got length and all of that. But on my end, I feel like it was some unforced turnovers that weren’t necessary.”
“I mean, I did leave it all on the court, but it was too late, and it just doesn’t matter,” Johnson added.
“Should have did it earlier. Should have executed better. I feel like it’s all on me. I can take that because I know I went to another level, and I gave more than I thought I had. I’ve got to be more in attack mode. That’s my fault. Being too passive, I’m done with that.”
Johnson has spent three seasons at LSU and won the national championship as a freshman in 2023.
For the 2024-25 season, she averaged 18.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game and was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press and the USBWA.
Mulkey was full of praise for Johnson after the Bruins defeat, which could well be her final game at LSU.
“Well, I remember when I took the LSU job, Flau’jae Johnson was the first McDonald’s All-American that I signed at LSU,” Mulkey said.
“I had not coached and won anything at LSU, and she came to LSU. So she jump-started our program, really. And then the portal helped us. We brought in Angel and lots of other players.
But Flau’jae was a high school All-American and we got her. So I’m forever indebted to Flau’jae Johnson. I think she told you – the game was lost in the second quarter. That’s where the game was lost. We didn’t capitalize on [Lauren] Betts being off the floor. And she feels like she was a big part of that not having played up to what she – her standards are for herself in the second quarter.
“In the third and fourth quarter, I think she really, really tried. That’s what All-Americans do. They just try to figure out some way to impact the game, and she did. She did.”
Johnson has become a big star off the court over the past few years.
She’s one of the highest-earning college basketball players from name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals, having signed lucrative endorsement deals with the likes of Puma, Meta, JBL, and Taco Bell.
According to On3, Johnson has an NIL worth of $1.5million, placing her 43rd on their list of the most valuable student-athletes in the country.
The 5ft 10in baller is the second-highest woman on the list, trailing only gymnastics and social media sensation, Olivia Dunne.
The Tigers star, featured on Amazon Prime’s ‘The Money Game: LSU’ alongside the likes of Reese, Dunne and Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, also happens to be a rapper signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation.
Johnson is the daughter of the rapper Camoflauge and has released her own tracks and EPs.
