Flau’jae Johnson refused to speak down on Hailey Van Lith despite every opportunity to do so. She did not take the bait while discussing her former women’s college basketball teammate, who recently transferred to TCU.
There were a few giggles, but the 20-year-old guard held strong and took the high road!
Johnson, who averaged 14.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.1 steals in 32.4 minutes per game as a sophomore last season, played alongside Van Lith in the backcourt. They shared the court for a large chunk of the year and often worked in tandem as the primary ball-handlers.
However, it was Van Lith who was tasked with guarding Caitlin Clark during the Elite Eight. The Louisville transfer did her best to lock down the greatest scorer in college basketball history but failed to do so.
Clark left Van Lith and Angel Reese in awe of her nine three pointers and made them both hit the reverse Jordan shrug. They could not stop her. She was just too good.
Van Lith was a liability and Clark was unconscious. Both of those things can be true!
Not long after getting cooked by Clark, Van Lith hit the transfer portal for her fifth and final year of eligibility. Kim Mulkey explained that her decision to leave stemmed from a failed position change. Others joked that it was because she will never recover from the defensive struggles in the NCAA Tournament.
Johnson does not see it that way!
Party host/broadcasting personality Ferrari Simmons and T.V. personality You Know BT tried to get her to bite during an appearance on ‘The Baller Alert Show.’ Their efforts were not successful.
Flau’jae Johnson did not allow them to slander Hailey Van Lith and instead offered praise for stepping up to the challenge. Credit to her! That is a testament to who her she is as a person and as a teammate.