Kim Mulkey doesn’t believe in sugarcoating—she believes in winning. Whether she’s calling out fans or lighting up her own players, LSU’s fiery head coach never shies away from the hard truth. “Let me be the bad guy,” she says. Because in Mulkey’s world, brutal honesty isn’t cruelty—it’s the price of greatness. And when sophomore guard Flau’Jae Johnson was struggling, she learned that lesson the hard way.

It was Feb. 23, and LSU found itself in an unexpected hole against Kentucky, trailing by 12 at halftime. Johnson, a key piece of the Tigers’ lineup, had barely made a dent on the scoreboard, with just three points on a single shot attempt. Then came the halftime reckoning.

“She came into the locker room, and she didn’t yell at me, but she was like, ‘You suck right now,’” Johnson recalled in an interview with Boardroom. “She called me out, and I was not playing good that first half. She kind of chewed me out and knows what to say in order to get me going.”

Mulkey’s blunt honesty flipped a switch. Johnson came out firing in the second half, sinking her first shot and tallying 10 more points to finish with 13, alongside 13 rebounds, three assists, and a steal. More importantly, LSU locked down Kentucky, allowing just 20 second-half points and clawing back for a seven-point victory. It was a textbook example of tough love in action—a wake-up call, followed by a response.

But as every player knows, the grind never stops, and one game doesn’t define a season. Just days after her Kentucky turnaround, LSU found itself in another battle—this time against Alabama. But Johnson couldn’t summon the same spark. She struggled from the field, shooting just 2-of-12, finishing with six points, seven rebounds, and five fouls in a tough 88-85 loss. It was a harsh reminder that confidence isn’t something you unlock once—it’s a constant fight.

Johnson later apologized for her struggles, but Mulkey made the decision to bench her, pointing to a nagging injury that may have played a role in her dip in performance.

Speaking on her podcast Best of Both Worlds, Johnson opened up about the setback. “I’ve been taking my conditioning serious. I’m just excited to get back on the court. Like, as soon as they tell me I can go, I’m going to lace my shoes up and I’m going to go. Like, I’m so, so, so, so, so, so, so excited. And yeah, it’s just like, once you get something taken from you, you really appreciate it much more.”

If there’s one thing that has kept Johnson pushing forward, it’s Mulkey’s relentless mindset. When asked about the best advice she’s received from her coach in a recent interview with USA Today, Johnson didn’t hesitate.

“Oh, it’s like this little quote. She said, ‘Today, I gave all I had, and what I kept, I lost forever.’ I think it’s just like going out there and giving 100% every time. Because what do you gain by keeping it? … So, that’s one of the most important things I think that she ever taught me. ‘I gave all I had because what I kept I lost forever,’ because we don’t really get that back. You don’t get do-overs. You don’t get none of that. So, you gotta go out there and go hard every time.”

That’s the genius of Kim Mulkey’s coaching—she doesn’t just push players, she makes them understand why they need to be pushed. For Flau’Jae Johnson, that lesson came wrapped in a blunt halftime reality check. Seems like in a game defined by momentum swings and split-second decisions, sometimes hearing “you suck” is exactly what it takes to unlock greatness.

Flau’Jae Johnson: From halftime callouts to headlining the moment

And for Johnson, those words weren’t just fuel on the court—they became a mindset she carries into her music career, too. On Friday, she dropped What It Takes, her latest music video on YouTube in collaboration with Powerade and Lyrical Lemonade, a track that embodies the relentless grind behind success. With a full-length music video to match, the song is more than just a commercial—it’s a statement. And if LSU makes a deep tournament run, don’t be surprised if her own lyrics soundtrack the madness.

At just 20, Johnson already boasts a national championship, four albums, two tracks with over a million Spotify streams, and an enormous social media following 2 million on Instagram and another 1.6 million on TikTok. She also holds the highest NIL valuation of any female college athlete outside of LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne. But her ambitions don’t stop there.

Recently named First-Team All-SEC alongside teammates Aneesah Morrow and Mikaylah Williams, Johnson is proving that her impact isn’t limited to viral moments or rap verses. She’s a force on the floor, a rising mogul off of it, and a brand’s dream athlete—gritty, marketable, and always ready to perform.

With her name now on Forbes 30 Under 30 alongside Caitlin Clark and her voice booming through Powerade’s biggest-ever college sports campaign, one thing is clear: Flau’Jae Johnson isn’t just in the spotlight—she is the spotlight.