NCAA’s new season is ready to set the stage on fire again. And so are the LSU Tigers, determined to replicate their impressive championship run from 2023 for a second title. However, head coach Kim Mulkey’s squad will have to navigate this journey without their standout player, Angel Reese, who has been instrumental in their success over the past two seasons. However, it looks like Flau’jae Johnson is ready to step up and fill that void as the two players, once friends, have recently found themselves in a strained relationship.

Recently, the LSU guard released a new episode of her podcast, Best of Both Worlds with Flau’jae, where she opened up about her goals for her junior year with the Tigers. Setting her intentions clearly, she shared, “Four goals that I have for myself is to be consistent, to be a good defender, to get more in my bag, and to like leave my team um I think you know my role is different now and you know I have to be a leader and I have to be consistent in that so that’s what I’m really trying to do. I have high high high expectations from me.”

Flau’jae Johnson has played a crucial role for LSU over the past two seasons, consistently ranking among the team’s top three scorers. However, she hasn’t held the top spot, as that title belonged to Angel Reese, who led the scoring charts during her time in Baton Rouge. With Reese now out of the picture, Johnson finds herself in a prime position to step into that leading role.

As Johnson shared her leadership goals, it’s interesting to remember that head coach Kim Mulkey had previously praised those very qualities in Angel Reese last season. “Angel’s leadership can best may be described as the word by how hard you play in practice, how hard do you play in practice,” stated Mulkey earlier this month. Therefore, the LSU No. 4 might be eyeing to replace Reese by claiming her status as a leader on the court.

After getting to Louisiana, Johnson spent two years alongside Angel Reese, culminating in a championship victory during their freshman season. However, things have changed since the forward transitioned to the WNBA. Once close friends, the two have found themselves drifting apart with their bond getting strained.

The evolving dynamic between Flau’jae Johnson and Angel Reese

“Yeah, me and Angel, we aren’t as close as we used to be,” Flau’jae Johnson had revealed about her changing relationship with Angel Reese last month. In fact, the tension between the two seems to have sparked from a heated exchange between their mothers. It all began when Reese’s mom pointed out some grammatical mistakes made by Kia Brooks, Johnson’s mother. In a swift response, Brooks fired back, bringing Reese into the fray by mentioning her academic struggles at LSU.

The rift between Flau’jae Johnson and Angel Reese became more apparent when Johnson failed to mention Reese during a recent episode of her podcast, where she listed her top five LSU graduates. This omission spoke volumes about their evolving friendship. In response, Reese made her own statement about their relationship. While expressing her excitement for the upcoming NCAA season, she named Aneesah Morrow as her favorite LSU player to watch—an evident snub to Johnson.

It’s tough to predict whether Flau’jae Johnson and Angel Reese will mend their complex relationship in the future. What’s clear, however, is Johnson’s determination to step into the leadership role that Reese held as a Lady Tiger. Fans will soon see if she can rise to the occasion when Kim Mulkey’s squad starts their season against Eastern Kentucky on November 4th.