 Johnson with the LSU Tigers in 2024 | |
| No. 4–LSU Tigers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| League | Southeastern Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born | November 3, 2003 Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Sprayberry (Marietta, Georgia) |
| College | LSU (2022–present) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Flau'jae Johnson (born November 3, 2003) is an American rapper and college basketball player for the LSU Tigers.
Johnson was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia. [1] Her father, the rapper Camoflauge, was shot and killed in May 2003 about six months before her birth in a case that remains unsolved. [2] Johnson grew up playing baseball as a pitcher and was the only girl on her team. [3]
She played basketball for Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia. [4] As a senior, Johnson was named Region 6-6A Player of the Year, and she left as her school's all-time leading scorer. She earned most valuable player honors at the Jordan Brand Classic after scoring 27 points, and played in the McDonald's All-American Game. [5] Johnson was also the only girl to play in the Iverson Classic. [6] Her number was retired by Sprayberry, and she became the first girl to receive the honor. [3]
Johnson entered her freshman season as LSU's starting shooting guard. [7] On November 20, 2022, she recorded a season-high 27 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and five assists in a 100–45 win over Northwestern State. [8] As a freshman, Johnson averaged 11 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, helping her team win its first national championship. [9] She was named the 2022–23 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Year. [10]
In her sophomore season, Johnson played in 36 games and started 34 of them. Due to illness, she missed one game and played off the bench in another two in November. [11] Johnson improved her averages in every statistical category except for rebounds, and was a key player for the Tigers throughout the season. [12] LSU finished the SEC regular season with a 13–3 record, and Johnson was named in Second Team All-SEC. [13] In the SEC Tournament, Johnson led the team in scoring in both the quarterfinals and semifinals, scoring 25 points against Auburn and then 21 points against Ole Miss. [14] [15] In the finals against South Carolina, Johnson was involved in a tussle that resulted in the ejection of six players (Johnson was not among those ejected) and the arrest of her brother. [16] After the game, Johnson apologized to Gamecocks' coach Dawn Staley for her role in the fight. [17] LSU entered the NCAA Tournament as the third seed. Johnson was the top scorer for LSU in their second-round win, 83–56, over Middle Tennessee. [18] [19] In the Sweet Sixteen win, 78–69, over the second-seeded UCLA, Johnson recorded 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks and was once again the top scorer for the Tigers and an overall key contributor. [20] [21] In an Elite Eight rematch of the 2023 championship game against the first-seeded Iowa, Johnson was again the top scorer for the team with 23 points, but LSU lost 87–94. [22]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–23 | LSU | 36 | 36 | 27.6 | 42.4 | 33.0 | 69.6 | 5.9 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 11.0 |
| 2023–24 | LSU | 36 | 34 | 32.4 | 50.4 | 38.0 | 76.9 | 5.5 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 14.9 |
| Career | 72 | 70 | 30.0 | 46.7 | 35.4 | 73.6 | 5.7 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 13.0 | |
| Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference. [23] | |||||||||||||
Johnson is also a rapper signed to Roc Nation. [24] [2] She was inspired to pursue a rap career to continue her father's legacy. Johnson has appeared on The Rap Game and America's Got Talent .
Johnson is estimated to be one of the highest-earning college basketball players from name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals. [25] She signed NIL deals with brands such as Puma, Meta, JBL, and Taco Bell. [26] Johnson was featured on The Money Game: LSU , a six-part NIL-focused docuseries by Prime Video that followed her, Jayden Daniels, Angel Reese, Livvy Dunne, and Alia Armstrong through LSU's 2023–24 sports season. [27] [28]
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Zia Cooke is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA and for the Townsville Fire of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She played in college for South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). At Rogers High School in Toledo, Ohio, she was rated a five-star recruit by ESPN and earned McDonald's All-American honors. A two-time All-SEC selection in college, Cooke helped South Carolina reach the Final Four of the NCAA tournaments in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
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The Money Game: LSU is an American limited docuseries that followed six LSU Tigerstudent-athletes Jayden Daniels, Angel Reese, Flau'jae Johnson, Livvy Dunne, Alia Armstrong, and Trace Young, through the 2023–24 sports season and the impact of them signing name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals. The series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 10 September 2024.
