David Crochet
July 14, 2009
Houma house fire kills 4 pets
July 16, 2009
On the day Vandebilt Catholic center Theresa Plaisance was born, former longtime LSU Lady Tigers basketball coach Sue Gunter sent her a recruitment questionnaire.
The long-term planning paid off last week as Plaisance announced she would commit to LSU for the 2010-11 season.
“I love the coaching staff and the players. Their facilities are great,” Plaisance said. “They pretty much had everything that all the other schools had, but it was right in my backyard. I feel comfortable there.”
She noted that her whole family supported her decision, including her mother, Nicholls women’s basketball coach DoBee Plaisance.
“(My family) already bought the whole LSU store. Anything LSU you can think of, I’m sure someone bought it,” Theresa Plaisance said.
In the past month, the six-foot, five-inch senior made unofficial visits to the colleges she considered attending – LSU, DePaul, Notre Dame, Purdue, Oklahoma and Auburn.
Rather than wait until National Signing Day on Nov. 11, she felt she had all the information needed to make a good decision.
“I wasn’t planning on picking any school until sometime in August before school started, but I saw everything I needed to,” she said. “I just wanted to get the whole process over with. It’s really stressful. I know where I’m going, so I can just relax and enjoy my senior year.”
DoBee Plaisance was especially proud of the way her daughter handled herself during the recruitment process.
“I’m really excited for her. She was very focused through the whole process,” the elder Plaisance said. “She knew what she was looking for in an institution. The process became quite a grind with all the calls and the letters and the e-mails.”
Theresa Plaisance, 17, transferred from Ursuline Academy in New Orleans to Vandebilt Catholic before her junior year when her mother accepted the Nicholls position in 2008.
As a junior, she averaged 17.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 assists per game last season. She helped lead Vandebilt to a 26-8 record, an undefeated District 8-4A title and nearly brought home the school’s first state basketball championship. The Lady Terriers lost on a last minute three-pointer to top-ranked St. Michael High School on March 7.
The Lady Terrier center was named the 2008-09 Gatorade Louisiana Girls Basketball Player of the Year and an All-State Team selection later that month.
“We’re very proud of Theresa. It’s a great opportunity for her to play in the best conference in the country,” said Lady Terriers coach Kathy Luke.
“She’s one of the best high school players in the country,” Luke added.” It’s an exciting time for Vandebilt Catholic basketball. It’s going to be exciting to see what she does her senior year for us and to watch her career develop as she goes through college.”
Theresa Plaisance will be the first Lady Terrier to play at LSU. She is the first commitment in the 2010 class of Lady Tigers coach Van Chancellor.
The younger Plaisance will be the second generation with an LSU connection.
Her mother was a close personal friend of Gunter’s and used to coach at her basketball camps.
“Those were the only camps I would work,” DoBee Plaisance said. “When Theresa was born, Sue sent that questionnaire to St. Martin Episcopal High School (where Plaisance coached at the time). I have it in my hope chest, and I believe it survived (Hurricane) Katrina.”
With the Lady Tigers and Lady Colonels scheduled to meet for the next four seasons, mother and daughter will find themselves in an awkward situation competing against each other.
“Obviously, I thought about that. I’m really not sure how I’m going to react to it,” DoBee Plaisance said. “I have not coached against family. I coached my sister (Renee Ronquillo) in high school and college (Loyola University). Ask me in two years right before the game. I might have an answer.”
“I’ve never really competed against my mom before, except like one-on-one. It’s going to be interesting,” Theresa Plaisance said, quickly adding that she usually wins their on court battles.
So, who will Theresa Plaisance root for when LSU and Nicholls square off later this year?
“I’m not sure. I might have to wear an LSU T-shirt and Nicholls shorts,” she admitted. “I’ll probably root for Nicholls just because of my mom, but I don’t know.”
The elder, wiser Plaisance was more definitive in her answer.
“She is going to root for her mother because we always want our family to do well,” she declared. “I pay the cell phone bill. She’s going to have to root for her mother or the cell phone gets cut off.”
Vandebilt Catholic center Theresa Plaisance announced her commitment to LSU last week. Will she help the Lady Tigers cut the net after an NCAA title? * Photo by KEYON K. JEFF
