Diggs giving Terrebonne inspiration with tough play

Terrebonne sophomore point guard Raina Diggs taps the alarm clock at 6 a.m. each day and gets set to take on the world yet again.

On normal days, she’ll get home in the late afternoon or early evening after practice and tackle homework to keep up with her sparkling 3.5 GPA.

On game days, she often doesn’t see her bedroom or sometimes her family’s home again until 10 p.m.

What happens in between those hours is somewhat of a blur, she admits, but it’s just a day in the life of one of the Tri-parish’s most gifted athletes, who is taking the area by storm with her dominant, well-rounded play.

“I go to sleep early most of the time,” she said. “But I don’t know how I do it. I just pace myself.”

Pacing oneself is probably a must for a player who plays with the intensity Diggs does.

Standing just 5-foot-2-inches tall (according to her yardstick), Diggs doesn’t have the ability to succeed in basketball with just sheer size and strength.

She instead relies on heart and hustle to lead her team.

“That doesn’t bother me, because I still get up there with them,” Diggs said of her size disadvantage. “I’ll be having more rebounds than them, so size doesn’t matter to me.”

But from having a wrecking ball mentality on the court, Diggs often collects bumps and bruises along the way.

In a recent game against Thibodaux, Diggs smashed into the floor, injuring her ribs, ankle and head on the play.

She layed on the floor for several minutes, as the Terrebonne crowd worried about the status of their beloved point guard.

“When she gets hurt, the whole team takes it personally,” sophomore forward Darian Dees said. “It’s personal after our point guard goes down. We rally around Raina.”

She returned to the game just minutes later and helped the Lady Tigers seal the victory.

Oh yeah, she got changed after the game and honored her duties as a cheerleader, as well, helping push the boys’ team to an overtime win.

Again, just another day in the life.

“Two feet tall, but she plays like she’s 6-feet,” Terrebonne assistant coach Jerwaski Coleman said. “She’s got the heart of a giant. I can’t ask for any more. She’s just a warrior.”

Cheerleading is one of the many hats Diggs wears away from of the basketball floor. It was because of that activity that the point guard missed the beginning portion of the season.

She said with Terrebonne’s football team making a playoff run, she wanted to finish her obligation to that sport before fully committing herself to basketball.

Watching her team open the season without her wasn’t easy, but she said she wore both hats, serving as a cheerleader for her teammates, as well.

“I was still cheering them on because I knew when I come back, I’m still part of the team,” Diggs said. “And their record is my record because we’re a team.”

Terrebonne survived the early-season schedule without Diggs and have flourished with her in the lineup, rolling to the top of the standings in the always-tough District 8-5A with a win against Thibodaux.

It hasn’t always come easy for Terrebonne’s point guard. Diggs has a self-described emotional personality, and she admits sometimes has too strong an attitude on the floor.

That’s where Coleman comes in, because as a player, he said he was exactly the same way.

In several Terrebonne games this season, Coleman has sat Diggs down for a few seconds just to let her collect her thoughts before putting her back in the game.

“Just let her calm down and let her play her game. That’s all,” Coleman said. “I just know from past experience with myself, I have to refocus her sometimes. That’s all.”

“He’s like a firecracker and we have that bond,” Diggs added. “We’re just alike a lot and when I’m down or something, he knows the right answer to tell me because he’s been there before.”

Whatever Coleman is saying is usually dead on the money.

In a recent tournament in Jeanerette, Diggs recorded triple doubles in two-consecutive games, compiling points, rebounds and steals in one game and posting points, rebounds and assists in another.

That level of play has Coleman hearing sweet music in his ears when thinking about his point guard’s final two years of her career.

Speaking of music, Diggs also balances being a member of Terrebonne High School’s band in the midst of her basketball and cheerleading.

“Two more years of her,” Coleman said. “That’s pretty nice. That’s a good thing to think about.”

Diggs agreed, saying she thinks she has plenty of room to develop as both a person and a player.

“I need to work on my shot and my attitude,” she said. “Not to really focus so much on me, but just worry about the team and to keep winning to try and make it to the playoffs and move further.”

Maybe then Diggs would be able to get a little bit of rest.

Until then, the alarm clock will keep being tapped at 6 a.m., and she won’t stop until all of her many hats are worn for each day.

Terrebonne High School point guard Raina Diggs stands tall for the Lady Tigers, despite just a 5-foot-2-inch frame. Diggs wriggles through taller defenders to get to the basket before finishing the play with a layup. CASEY GISCLAIR