Flau’jae Johnson’s career stands out not only for her on-court accomplishments but for defying the transfer-heavy landscape of the modern NIL era in college sports.

More than four years ago, Johnson committed to LSU. Fast-forward to 2026, and she’s never left the school where she first enrolled. Her ties to the Southeastern Conference powerhouse run so deep she buried her beloved pet, a bearded dragon named Four in a nod to her jersey number, on the Baton Rouge campus.

On Friday, Johnson will take the court for the final time in a Tigers’ jersey as she concludes her prolific college basketball career. 

But when LSU tips off against 15th-seeded Jacksonville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Johnson’s other bearded dragon, Champ, will be with her — in spirit at the very least.

Most of Johnson’s teammates would likely prefer to avoid the reptile. But LSU guard Izzy Besselman, a close friend of Johnson, has been tricked into opening a basket she thought was empty but actually contained the bearded dragon.

Johnson is contemplating bringing Champ to the gym for practice sessions, noting some of her teammates bring along their dogs.

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Nevertheless, with her final run on the horizon, Johnson said she’s embracing the challenge ahead, no matter how far LSU advances. 

“March is always a good month,” she told reporters during the SEC Tournament. “I love March. The thing is, this is when everyone’s the most focused, and you just got to rely on your work.”

Johnson, who is also a recording artist and is signed to Roc Nation, has a morning routine that includes watching game film with her coach and fitting in workouts outside team practices. Several brands have also partnered with Johnson, and she makes time to fulfill commitments associated with those deals.

Besselman noted Johnson’s ability to bring out the best in her teammates. 

“Seeing how hard she works motivates me and everybody else in this locker room,” Besselman told Yahoo Sports. “It’s a good person to look up to.”

Johnson’s coach, Kim Mulkey, is known for her “tough love” approach, a style that has produced results with three national titles at Baylor and another at LSU. Johnson said Mulkey helped shape her into a more efficient and ultimately better player.

“It could be easier to go into the transfer portal, go to a team with a terrible record and average 30,” Johnson said. “I could do that. I did that in high school. You know what I’m saying? College is not much different.

“But I want to play with All-Americans. I want to play with a tough coach who won championships. I want to play with people so I can learn how to be efficient. I want to play in positions where it’s not favorable for me and still come out on top. For me, it’s more so, I like to do the hard stuff.”

Johnson is on track to compete in Unrivaled as soon as next year after already signing an NIL deal with the women’s 3-on-3 league.

Mulkey said she believes Johnson is one of the best athletes to have played at LSU in part because of her philanthropy, but also for what she did for the program’s trajectory.

“She took a chance on LSU when what did we have to sell?” Mulkey said on senior night. “We just got here, and she was the first McDonald’s All-American that I signed at LSU. The story on Flau’jae will be all those things I just mentioned, but the greatest story of all to me is she stayed four years at LSU and will graduate. 

“When you think of college athletics now, people don’t do it anymore. And she loves LSU, and, in return, LSU embraced her and loved her back.”

LSU earned a No. 2 seed in this year’s women’s basketball Division I tournament. The Tigers will play in the Sacramento regional.

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HOUSTON — The combination of Luka Doncic and LeBron James was overpowering and enthralling for all to see during the Lakers’ dynamic 124-116 win over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on Wednesday.

Doncic was a rebound shy of a triple-double with 40 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

James was a force with 30 points, missing just one of his 14 shots and adding five rebounds and two assists.

They were the main reasons why the Lakers extended their winning streak to seven straight games and helped them take the three-game series over the Rockets, 2-1, winning both games here, one on Monday night.

The beauty of the night was when Doncic threw a no-look lob pass to James for a dunk and then when Doncic drilled a three-pointer with 58.4 seconds left for a 120-111 Lakers lead.

Doncic yelled at the crowd and ran down court shaking his head. When the Rockets called a time out, the Lakers bench all ran over to Doncic, hugging him, slapping him and James nudging him for a job very well done.

The Lakers now have a 1-½ game lead over Minnesota for the third seed in the Western Conference.

James was fouled by Jabari Smith Jr. on a break-away layup, forcing him down on the court and holding his right elbow.

James was awarded two free throws with 5:39 remaining, making one to tie the score at 105-105.

Doncic then took over when James went to the bench for a rest.

Doncic’s jumper gave the Lakers a two-point lead and later his pass to Rui Hachimura for a corner three-pointer gave the Lakers one-point lead after Amen Thompson had scored for the Rockets

Doncic drilled a three-pointer for a 113-109 Lakers lead with 3:12 left.

James had a steal in the first quarter and then threw down a dunk with Alperen Segen chasing him, leading to James to stare at Segun as he ran back down court, drawing cheers from the fans in awe at witnessing the 23-year veteran still making highlight plays at 41.

Early in the second quarter, James gave the fans even more to cheer about, catching a high lob pass from Marcus Smart and throwing down a one-handed dunk to oohs and aahs.

James wasn’t done, taking a pass from Jake LaRavia and throwing down another dunk later in the second quarter that brought the crowd out of its seats. That play gave the Lakers a 13-point lead.

James was at it again with a tip dunk off an Ayton missed shot late in the second quarter.

By the end of the first half, James had made all eight of his shots and scored 18 points in carrying the Lakers to a 12-point lead after the first 24 minutes of the game.

James was still dizzying while playing in his 1,610th career NBA game, leaving him one shy of the all-time record held by Robert Parish (1,611).

The Lakers not only had to deal with a Rockets team looking for revenge from Monday night’s loss, but also had to contend with a Houston team that got All-Star center Segun back after missing the previous game with low back pain.

Even more, the Lakers knew that rebounding would be an issue for them just like it was in the first game.

But the Lakers also knew their defense was strong and their offense was powerful.

That was the case in the first quarter, when the Lakers opened a 35-26 lead behind 13 points from Doncic, eight from James and six from Ayton.

Their defense forced the Rockets into four turnovers, two by Kevin Durant.

“I just think regardless of what our coverage is, we just got to do a better job of boxing out, like actually physically boxing out and not just looking at a guy and then turn and look at the ball,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said pregame. “We’ve got to have some contact. That hurt us. We still won scoring-opportunity (points) by seven, I think, because we did such a good job of forcing them into turnovers. And I thought, offensively, when we used our throw-a-heads, we got some really good stuff in transition. (We) missed some threes in transition. Overall, we were 16 points under expected from three. There was segments of the game where I didn’t love what we did offensively, but that’s the nature of playing this team. They’re gonna muck things up.”

Four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers signed a one-year deal with the Steelers last offseason. At 42, he has not ruled out a 2026 return, but the team is waiting to see what comes next.

The NFL’s new league year kicked off last week and the draft is next month. As the Steelers continue through the offseason, at least one former standout made it clear Rodgers’ time in Pittsburgh should be over.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson urged his former team to simply move on from Rodgers. “Is he gonna play? Listen, I get kinda tired of it,” Woodson said on “The Rich Eisen Show.”

“Listen, if he’s gonna play, say he’s gonna play, he’s gonna come back. And the team shouldn’t wait for Aaron Rodgers. They need to move forward.”

While Woodson’s frustration appears to be growing, the Steelers still appear willing to wait. Rodgers recently said he is not aware of any “deadline” but has maintained his offseason training routine.

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Rodgers started in 16 games last season, throwing 24 touchdowns. He helped the Steelers end a five-season AFC North division title drought. But Pittsburgh ultimately could not break its playoff windless streak, losing to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round.

Rodgers spent the first 18 seasons of his NFL career with the Green Bay Packers. He had a two-year stint with the New York Jets before signing with the Steelers.

“What is it with these ex-Green Bay Packers quarterbacks that they have to be talked about all the time?” Woodson added. “‘Cause Brett Favre was that way for years. Remember how we used to have to talk about Brett Favre, talk about Brett Favre.”

Former Ohio State standout Will Howard and NFL veteran Mason Rudolph are set to return to the Steelers in 2026. Concerns about the Steelers’ quarterback room continue to mount, with former star Rod Woodson arguing the team missed a chance to secure a long-term answer in last year’s draft.

“They should’ve taken Jaxson Dart (in the 2025 NFL Draft),” Woodson said. “He fell to them. It was the best opportunity for them to take that quarterback who has that swag, kinda fit into that Steeler mold.”

The Steelers formally introduced Mike McCarthy in January, kicking off a new era. McCarthy replaces Mike Tomlin, who stepped down after 19 seasons as the Steelers’ head coach.

McCarthy coached Rodgers in Green Bay. The new Steelers coach said he’s been in contact with his former quarterback this offseason, adding earlier this year he viewed Rodgers as a “great asset” to the team and suggested the franchise would welcome his return.

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