"Earned, never given": $1.5M NIL-valued Flau'jae Johnson's mom Kia gets inspired by LSU star's hooping hustle

LSU star Flau'Jae Johnson is known for her passion and dedication to basketball. In turn, her mother, Kia Brooks, is still impressed by her daughter.

"Excuses. It's 6am in Baton Rouge and my baby in the gym. Earned, never given," she captioned an Instagram photo on Tuesday.

"She really inspires me. Now I'm about to get up and go to the gym."

Johnson has averaged 22.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game to lead No. 5 Tigers (9-0) to a perfect start.

Flau'Jae Johnson in the Baton Rouge gym. IG photo via @kiajbrooks

Kim Mulkey marvels at Flau'Jae Johnson's "crazy work ethic"

LSU coach Kim Mulkey, a Hall of Famer who has won four national titles as a head coach, one as an assistant coach and two as a player, has seen plenty of talent. She recognized Johnson's outstanding contribution to the team and credited the guard's growth in this campaign to her "crazy work ethic."

"I think she's just more mature each year," Mulkey said (Timestamp: 6:40). "You're supposed to get better, and it doesn't take a coach to tell you what you need to work on. It just takes playing, and when you're playing, you remember things from the previous year.

"I just think Flau'jae has this crazy work ethic. When you think about this kid, she gets up at 5:00 in the morning, she has to go to school, she has to do her music, she has to work on her game, then she has to come to practice.

"I don't know how she does it, but she does it and makes it work and she's reaping the rewards from her hard work."

In LSU's last game, Johnson posted 22 points, four blocks and one steal as the Tigers demolished North Carolina Central 131-44 on Sunday. She also scored the first nine points in the Tigers' explosion in the second quarter which ended in a 63-18 lead at halftime.

The win also made Mulkey the fastest coach in the program's history to reach 100 victories.

"Throughout my career, I've been blessed to coach players who believe in our system and believe in what we do,” Mulkey said (6:10). “Coming to LSU is not any different than when I was at Baylor for 20-plus years. The kids have to believe in you, they have to let you coach them, and all of those wins belong to them.”

Next, LSU hosts unranked Stanford on Thursday where Johnson and the team hope to continue their unbeaten run.