"I'm scared of Kim Mulkey": Flau'jae Johnson makes hilarious admission following major honor for Team USA

LSU guard Flau'jae Johnson has had a busy offseason after a stellar junior season with the Tigers including coaching at the BETX celebrity game and the Overtime Select Takeover game. On Thursday, Johnson was named to the Team USA roster that will compete in the FIBA Women's AmeriCup competition in Chile between June 28 and July 6.

Johnson joined prospects like TCU Horned Frogs star Olivia Miles and Texas Longhorns guard Madison Booker in the 12-person roster.

During an interview after practice with Team USA, Johnson made a hilarious admission about the pressure of playing for the national team after honing her craft under the demanding LSU coach Kim Mulkey.

"No disrespect to Team USA, but I'm scared of Kim Mulkey," Johnson said. "I always tell people 'I've played for Kim Mulkey for four years, I can play for anybody.' With USA it's more of admiration. I'm grateful to be here and representing something bigger than me.

"I think I've earned it in my senior year because when you're playing in the March Madness, it doesn't matter who's scoring most of the points, it doesn't matter, you just want to impact the game. I feel like USA is gonna help me in that way, I'm not nervous, I came here to play."

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When Flau'jae Johnson was appreciated by Kim Mulkey

Flau'jae Johnson was a highly recruited McDonald's All-American in the class of 2022 and opted to join coach Kim Mulkey's LSU Tigers. In their first year together in Baton Rouge, they won the national championship.

After the Tigers' elimination at the Elite Eight stage in April, Mulkey showed her appreciation for the star guard for choosing to join her LSU project after she took the Tigers job.

"I remember when I took the LSU job, Flau'jae Johnson was the first McDonald's All-American that I signed at LSU," Kim 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."

Flau'jae Johnson had the opportunity to declare for the 2025 WNBA Draft, where she was projected to be a lottery pick by ESPN. But she opted to remain in college basketball for an extra season and most importantly, after being linked with a move away from LSU, stayed at the program.