James Westley McCormick
April 8, 2013
Tigers rolling toward NCAAs
April 10, 2013
On the surface, LSU junior center Theresa Plaisance is a goofy, fun-loving college student who enjoys life without a care in the world.
That is foundationally true – the former Vandebilt Catholic All-American is indeed an elite prankster. She is one of the most laid-back student athletes within the entire university.
But hidden behind the charming smile, college ribbings and love for humor lies much more.
At the core, Plaisance is a fierce competitor in love with the intricacies of the sport of basketball.
As she sat on the bench the first two years of her LSU career, Plaisance’s two personality traits collided as she juggled the roles of good teammate and also a competitor wanting to be on the floor battling with her team.
“My freshman year was probably the hardest year of my life,” Plaisance said. “When you go from being an All-Everything McDonald’s All-American in high school to being that player that is supposed to be a cheerleader with a towel on the end of the bench – that’s a hard transition. I wanted to be a good teammate and I accepted it with a smile. But it wasn’t always easy. It was my role – but it was very hard.”
But from the struggle has come a success story unlike many ever seen in the storied history of Lady Tigers’ basketball.
With a consistent opportunity to see the floor in 2012-13, Plaisance ascended and became one of the stars of the Southeastern Conference.
The LSU junior won the league’s scoring title, averaging 17 points per game.
She reflected on her magical run and her entire college experience this week, saying that she “can’t believe” how well the season went.
“It was a great year for me, but more importantly, it was a great year for our team,” Plaisance said. “We’re all looking forward to working hard this summer so we can get back on the court and pick up where we left off this year. This year was truly awesome and I’m so thankful and blessed to have a great team around me to share it with.”
A humbling start as a Lady Tiger
Coming out of Vandebilt Catholic, Plaisance was a hot commodity.
Understandably so.
Plaisance is a 6-foot, 5-inch post player with the ability to shoot the basketball from behind the 3-point line.
That skillset and her lofty statistics earned Plaisance a spot on the McDonald’s All-American Team her final year in high school.
To make it even better, Plaisance is the daughter of a proven coach – Nicholls State women’s basketball coach DoBee Plaisance.
While a Lady Terrier, the Lady Tiger also picked the brain of former Lady Terriers’ coach Kathy Luke – an iconic girls’ basketball figure in Louisiana.
“I had offers from really everywhere,” Plaisance said. “LSU, of course. But then Notre Dame, Connecticut, Penn State, Purdue – really any school that you could think of, honestly.”
Plaisance picked the Lady Tigers because of the love she has for the program and its obvious proximity to home.
She arrived on campus thinking she would be in line to play in her freshman season for then-coach Van Chancellor’s team.
Things didn’t go as Plaisance planned.
When she arrived on campus, Plaisance was placed behind proven post players like LaSondra Barrett, Swayze Black and Taylor Turnbow on the team’s depth chart.
Plaisance played in 21 of the team’s 32 games that season, but contributed just four minutes per game.
She said she struggled with the role of being a bench player – so much so that she would often look at other team’s rosters and wonder if she could play sooner in another program.
“I was promised by so many places that if I’d go there, I’d be able to start right away,” Plaisance said. “I stayed patient my whole time, but it’d be impossible for anyone on the bench to not ever think about playing. I looked at some of the teams we were playing against and I’d hear their coach telling me that I’d play there as a freshman when they recruited me.”
But even with the “evil Theresa” sitting on her shoulder barking about playing time, Plaisance pushed forward and said she played the role of a reserve as best she could.
“I wasn’t very fond of that role – I didn’t like that role, but I respected my teammates and I love my team, so I did it with a smile,” Plaisance said. “I wasn’t always happy and some days were harder than others, but I did it to the best of my ability because I love my teammates and it’d be unfair to them if I did anything but be there to support them.”
After her freshman season, Chancellor left the program and current coach Nikki Caldwell came into the mix.
Plaisance said Caldwell’s hire was a breath of fresh air because her style of play better incorporates Plaisance’s skillset.
But with the more experienced players still on the roster, Plaisance still didn’t get as much burn as she would have hoped, playing 11 minutes per game and averaging 4.5 points per game as a sophomore.
“It got much better, but I’d get in the game and I’d have a job – one or two things they were looking for me to do,” Plaisance said. “I was happy about the progress, but it still wasn’t what I was accustomed to.”
From the bottom to the top
With Barrett, Black and Turnbow gone from the program and Krystal Forthan transferring from the team, Plaisance went from a backup post to one of the team’s only experienced bigs.
The junior said following her sophomore season, Caldwell called her into her office for a “heart-to-heart” meeting.
In the conversation, Plaisance said the coach challenged her to take the next step and put a lot of responsibility onto her shoulders.
“She told me that she believed in me and she wanted me to be one of the leaders of our team,” Plaisance said. “She challenged me to be an all-around better player in all areas and told me that the team needed me to take that next step to have a successful season.”
With the coach’s words of encouragement in mind, Plaisance started to condition her body.
She said she lost approximately 20 pounds working out with teammate Anne Pedersen.
“Trying to keep up with her is like running against a leopard,” Plaisance said with a laugh. “We pushed each other a lot to be better – stronger, faster and quicker.”
Plaisance’s efforts quickly paid off.
From the beginning of the 2012-13 season, Plaisance was LSU’s go-to player on offense.
Throughout the duration of the season, she led the team in scoring. She finished the year averaging 17 points per game. Plaisance also ranked near the top of the conference in rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage and free throw percentage.
“Theresa accepted the responsibility of being a go-to player for us,” Caldwell said. “Offensively, she’s about as skilled as they come. I like Theresa being aggressive for us right out of the gate because it does allow our guards to have a little bit more leeway because she brings double teams.
“Anything she’s on the floor, you have to guard Theresa. She dedicated herself in the gym this offseason and it’s certainly shown.”
But Plaisance getting buckets didn’t equate to early success for LSU.
The Tigers started the season just 13-10 and were in serious danger of missing the NCAA Tournament.
To make matters worse, a rash of injuries and a suspension left LSU with just eight able bodies for most of the back-half of the season.
“We had every excuse and every reason in the book to back down, fold up and quit,” Plaisance said. “And if we would have done that, no one would have blamed us because of what we were going through. But that wasn’t in our character. That’s not what we were about.”
Team of 8 makes winning push
LSU was a host site for this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Whether the Lady Tigers were in the field or not, first and second round games would be played on the Baton Rouge campus.
“Coach Caldwell told us that if we didn’t make the tournament, we’d have to work the tournament,” Plaisance said. “We’d have to sell concession and clean up garbage. We definitely didn’t want to do that. No one wants the humiliation of sitting on the side while other teams play for tournament games on your home floor.”
Despite the depleted depth chart, LSU caught fire and beat three ranked opponents in the final weeks of the season to earn a No. 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Plaisance was a major spark in a lot of those games.
She scored 21 points against Missouri. She added 20 points and 13 rebounds in an upset win of Kentucky.
In the opening round game of the NCAA Tournament against Green Bay, she scored 16 points and was a perfect 2-of-2 from behind the 3-point line.
“It’s all been an eye-opening experience,” Plaisance said with a smile.
The former Vandebilt center said the final weeks of this season were some of the most fun times she’s ever had as a player.
She said because of the team’s small numbers, everyone on the roster accepted more responsibility, which led for a tight-knit group.
“I was watching the Green Bay game and we had more assistant coaches sitting on the bench than we did players,” Plaisance said with a laugh. “We were depleted, but we were united. And united goes a long way in our sport.”
With this year’s pleasant memories fresh in her brain, Plaisance said she is already looking forward to her senior season.
She has a clear goal in mind – going out on top.
“We’re shooting for that Final Four,” Plaisance said. “We want to get LSU back there. That’s our goal.”
However it shakes out, Plaisance will be a major part of the plans.
The jokester is competing again – at a high level.
All is right in the 6-foot, 5-inch standout’s world again.
LSU junior forward Theresa Plaisance expresses herself after the Lady Tigers scored an upset of Penn State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Plaisance played sparingly in the first two years of her career – a time she called the hardest of her life. But with a chance to shine in 2012-13, the former Vandebilt Catholic standout stood out, winning the SEC scoring title.
