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Vandebilt Catholic graduate Theresa Plaisance’s first WNBA season ended a few weeks sooner than she would have liked as the Tulsa Shock finished with a 12-22 record and missed the league’s playoffs, which are still playing out at press-time.
Despite success in the standings, Plaisance said her first professional season was still a success – something she and her teammates can grow on for the future.
In an interview with the Tri-Parish Times this week, Plaisance said that she’s hungry to get better this offseason after playing only sporadic minutes for the Shock as a rookie, thanks to the team’s loaded depth chart filled with post players.
But that offseason will be short and sweet, as Plaisance has signed a contract to play in Turkey during her WNBA offseason – a journey that will get under way in the coming weeks.
“It’s great (in Tulsa),” Plaisance said. “I’m with a great group of coaches and I have a great group of teammates. Our season didn’t turn out the way that we wanted it to be, but we made a lot of strides and I think there’s no denying that we have wonderful and great things in our future.”
With the Shock, Plaisance is on a roster that is glittered with young, talented players that are budding stars in the league – a list that includes names like All-Everything guard Skylar Diggins, rookie Odyssey Sims and WNBA All-Star post player Glory Johnson.
But all of the above-listed players are 24 or younger, an enigma that saw the Shock compete closely in a lot of games but fall flat late due to a lack of veteran presence on its roster.
Plaisance said losing the close ones is what derailed the team’s efforts in the quest to reach the playoffs. But she added that there is optimism around the team for the future because once the team’s young stars develop and gain experience, Tulsa figures to be a force.
The Shock also will have another high lottery pick this offseason, which it can use to retool its roster.
Plaisance played in 19 games for the Shock this season, serving as a backup post behind Johnson and center Courtney Paris.
The former Vandebilt Catholic All-American said she would have loved to play more as a rookie but added that she approached the season with an open mind, knowing that it’s a blessing to be a pro player. She added that she used her time on the sidelines to study her teammates to make herself better.
“Playing with the caliber of players that we have here has just been unreal,” she said. “Their speed, their IQ level and their all-around talent is just so high. You have no choice but to learn and get better from them every day. It’s so easy to learn when you have players like this around you every day. Courtney Paris is one of my closest friends on the team. She worked with me on a daily basis to make sure that I got my inside game better. I have help coming at me from all directions, and the Shock is just a great organization to be a part of right now.”
Away from the floor, Plaisance said she enjoyed being able to call basketball her full-time job for the first time in her career.
She said that she enjoyed living in the city of Tulsa, adding that basketball is “so much better” when not having to juggle the sport with final exams, homework and a 15-hour collegiate class schedule.
Plaisance said she often was left with tons of downtime during the WNBA season – something she wasn’t accustomed to at Vandebilt or LSU. She said she often spent that time relaxing with her lone companion in Tulsa – her dog.
“It’s great. I love the pro life,” Plaisance said. “No classes. No exams. No papers. Not as many workouts and different things. There’s a lot more free time than I’m used to having. I have my practice and then after that, my day is just for me and my dog – we just hang out all day.”
So with the WNBA season out of the way, Plaisance said she’s ready to take her talents across the globe. She signed a contract and will be playing in Turkey for six months for a team called Botas.
While there, she will be joined by other American players, as well as several of her teammates with Tulsa, who are just a few hours away on different teams.
Plaisance didn’t pull punches – she admitted that she knows very little about her future home but added that she looks forward to the experience.
“From what I’ve been told, it’s really pretty,” she said with a laugh. “And there’s a lot of English speaking people there. I’ve heard that Istanbul is the place to go, so I’ll probably be spending most of my time there.
“But that’s about it – that’s about all I know.”
But one thing Plaisance said she will have with her in Turkey is the love of her family and friends – many of whom live in Houma and the surrounding areas.
She said the Tri-parish area has been great to her throughout her career, adding that she will be thinking about our community when playing abroad in the coming weeks and months.
“It’s really crazy. I feel like I was in high school like last year. Time has really flown by,” Plaisance said. “Being a part of Vandebilt Catholic and being a part of the Houma area was so great for me. I love Houma and I miss Houma so much. I need to go back there and visit way more often. But it’s just really crazy how fast this transition from high school to college and then from college to the pros is. But it’s crazy. It feels like just yesterday, we were cutting down the nets with Coach (Kathy) Luke and winning the state championship. It’s a blur, but it’s a blessing. I’m incredibly blessed to be here.”
