“I’m hungrier than ever”: Flau’jae Johnson has her eyes set on another NCAA Championship

Flau’jae Johnson is entering her junior season with the LSU Tigers and the guard has just one goal for this year. In their previous campaign, the Tigers reached the Elite Eight but lost to the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Johnson said on her "Best of Both Worlds" podcast on Thursday that the Tigers would approach the season with winning a championship as their main goal.

"I ain't going to lie, we got to win," Johnson said. "I mean, I feel like we got the chance to do it. Knowing what it take to get there and knowing the pieces that you need, we got the talent we got the pieces. So it's just going to be about us putting it together, but I need a chip.

"I need another chip like not going to lie, I'm hungrier than ever. Just because I really know what it takes and I know what it looks like to go there and what you got to do. Like when you already tasted it before you kind of know the expectation, what it takes, what you need to do and I feel like we got the pieces to make it happen."

(From 16:18)

The Tigers' road to the NCAA title could be a hard one, as their opponents within the SEC and outside are some of the most stacked, like South Carolina, UConn and USC. Flau’jae Johnson is expected to lead the team, but she will also be without the help of Angel Reese, who played a significant role in steering the Tigers to their 2023 NCAA championship.

Flau’jae Johnson shares her experience playing under coach Kim Mulkey

Kim Mulkey took over the LSU Tigers program at the same that Flau’jae Johnson joined the school. She led the team to their first-ever national championship in 2023 and has since been looking to recreate the run with her talents.

Mulkey is known to be one of the toughest coaches in college basketball and Flau’jae Johnson attested to it during the previous episode of her podcast with Candace Parker.

"Just the thing about coach [Mulkey], it's that mental battle of expecting every day you gonna come in and give a 110%," Johnson said. "Playing under coach Mul, my mental has gotten so strong."

"She's going to say the most off-the-wall stuff ever, so anything that happens on the court doesn't even really matter for real. I'm so much mentally stronger than I was — being able to be poised, being able to make mistakes and recover and still be efficient."

What do you think are Flau’jae Johnson's chances at winning a second national championship? Let us know in the comments section below.