"He was murdered": Why Flau'Jae Johnson wears #4 at LSU?

LSU guard Flau'Jae Johnson wears jersey No. 4 for the Lady Tigers in honor of her play uncle and former Savannah High School basketball star James "Murdock" Ferguson.

Per Urban Dictionary, a "play uncle" refers to a friend of one's parents or family but not an actual relative, and Johnson considers Ferguson her play uncle.

Johnson elaborated on why she wears the number for the Lady Tigers in her "Best of Both Worlds" podcast.

"I wear No. 4... it was this man in Savannah, he played for the high (school). His name was Murdock," she said. "He was the coldest out of the city, and he was murdered. I started wearing the number out of respect for him and the city.”

In a December 2023 interview with WSAV, the Savannah, Georgia-born player/rapper said she looks up to Ferguson, who won a state championship with Savannah High and was the Savannah Morning News Player of the Year in his heyday.

Ferguson was supposed to play for Atlanta Metropolitan College, but his life was cut short as he was shot and killed on Guatemala Street on Jan. 2, 2007.

His legend stands until now thanks to Flau'jae Johnson, who has brandished the jersey number Ferguson used to wear.

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Flau'Jae Johnson becomes one of LSU's main gunners in the 2024-25 women's college basketball season

The departure of Angel Reese to the WNBA and the transfer of Hailey Van Lith to TCU have propelled Flau'Jae Johnson to superstar status from being a complimentary player in her first two seasons with the Tigers.

Johnson leads LSU's charge in the 2024-25 women's college basketball season. In nine games, she averaged 22.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks per game - a big uptick from 14.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 2.1 spg and 1.0 bpg average last season.

The LSU guard has formed a Big Three with Aneesah Morrow and Mikaylah Williams, and it has worked brilliantly. The Tigers' offense (93.9 ppg) has been fluid this season, it ranks third in points per game behind Florida State (96.4 ppg) and Tennessee (98.2 ppg).

Thanks to Johnson and the nation's top rebounder, Aneesah Morrow, LSU is ranked second in team rebounding behind Oklahoma (52.6 rpg). The Kim Mulkey-coached squad is also second in points differential at +39.1 points behind Michigan State (+39.6 points).

LSU is also determined to bounce back from its Elite Eight ouster last season to Iowa, and Flau'Jae Johnson will be one of the reasons to reach that objective this season.