LSU Makes Decision on Flau’Jae Johnson Before SEC Tournament
As LSU prepares for the SEC tournament, it will do so without arguably its best players in Flau’Jae Johnson.
Ahead of the conference tournament, head coach Kim Mulkey revealed that Johnson has been battling shin inflammation since at least before the Tigers lost to Texas on Feb. 16. As a result, the Tigers decided to put Johnson on ice for the conference tournament in an effort to rest her for the NCAA Tournament.
“I know she’s trying to mask the pain she’s in,” Mulkey told reporters on Sunday afternoon, “and it’s not a stress fracture or anything like that. It’s just rest. We’ll get that inflammation down, and we’ll see the Flau’jae that we need to see when we start playoffs.”
The junior guard is averaging 17.2 points per game on 42% shooting against SEC opponents this season – including her worst performance of the season in an 88-85 loss to Alabama on Thursday. She scored just 6 points on 2-of-12 shooting while picking up five fouls.
“I don’t think Flau’jae’s best basketball has happened in the last couple of weeks,” Mulkey said. “So let’s rest her. Why put her through that? Because it’s just not worth it.”
So far this season, Johnson leads LSU with 18.9 points per game while grabbing 5.8 rebounds and dishing out 2.4 assists.
