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Former Vandebilt Catholic High School graduate Theresa Plaisance has officially fulfilled her lifelong dream to be a professional basketball player.
The former Lady Terrier and LSU standout was selected by the Tulsa Shock in the third round (27th overall) in last week’s WNBA Draft.
Her selection places her as the 17th LSU player to be drafted in the history of the Lady Tigers’ program.
With training camp a few weeks away, Plaisance said she is honored to be chosen by the Shock.
“Growing up, every little kid wants to be a professional at whatever sport they play in,” Plaisance said. “And the Tulsa Shock is giving me the opportunity to make that dream come true. Being able to have the opportunity to step on the floor every day is such a blessing. To be able to take that to the next level, it’s something that I’ve worked on my entire life and it’s something that makes me at a lost for words. It’s unreal to me.”
Plaisance’s ascent to the WNBA level comes as no surprise to anyone who has watched the Lady Tigers play over the past several seasons.
A New Orleans native and daughter of Nicholls women’s basketball coach DoBee Plaisance, Theresa Plaisance established herself as a force in the paint for LSU in the final two seasons of her collegiate career.
As a junior, Plaisance averaged 17.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while leading the Lady Tigers to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
This year, Plaisance was just as effective, ranking in the Top 11 in the SEC in points (15.3), rebounds (7.9) and blocks (1.4) per game – all while again leading LSU to the Sweet 16.
Plaisance’s stretch of two-straight years averaging 15 or more points and 7 or more rebounds per game makes her the first LSU player to accomplish that feat since Sylvia Fowles.
The former Lady Terrier is also one of just 18 LSU players to score 1,000 points and pull down 500 rebounds in a career.
Plaisance said her peak as a collegiate performer came out of hunger from her first days on the campus. Plaisance didn’t see much playing time as a freshman with the Lady Tigers.
“I didn’t see much playing time,” she recalls. “Not unless we were up by 30 or down by 30 with 30 seconds left in the game. That was a really hard time for me, especially coming off the senior year I had in high school.”
But instead of sagging her head and doubting her ability, Plaisance said she worked hard to improve – something she credits as a reason for her eventual success.
“Looking back, it’s just been a great ride,” she said. “There’s been a lot of ups and a lot of downs. I’ve dealt with a lot of adversity, but the bottom line is just that you have to fight through adversity and make things happen that you wouldn’t expect to. Hard work really does pay off. After my sophomore year, I got in the gym and I lost about 20 pounds. … And I got better. The hard work is paying off for me.”
So with LSU in the rear view mirror, Plaisance said she is starting to look forward to finding her place at the professional level.
The Tulsa Shock are a team in transition in the WNBA – a young squad trying to take the next step and position itself favorable for postseason play.
Tulsa finished the 2013 year with just an 11-23 record. But even with the struggles, the 11-win campaign was the most for the team in four seasons.
But many WNBA experts tout that the Shock’s stint at the bottom will be ending shortly. The team drafted Notre Dame standout guard Skylar Diggins in last year’s draft – a player regarded as one of the top young guards in the league. Before picking Plaisance, the Stock nabbed Baylor guard Odyssey Sims in the first round of the draft.
Plaisance said she is excited about some of the moves the Shock made in the offseason, but she added that her focus is mostly on herself this offseason.
That’s because as a third round pick, Plaisance knows that she isn’t guaranteed to make the team’s final roster.
That decision will be made after training camp, which begins April 27.
But whether she does or doesn’t make the team, Plaisance said she’s honored to be en route to Tulsa.
She added that she’s prepared to bring a little bit of “Cajun Flare” to the Oklahoma-based city.
Of course, staying in line with her always-joking personality, the former Lady Terrier said she can’t leave until she does a few chores around the house first.
“I leave on the 22nd to head up to training camp,” Plaisance said. “Until then, I’m going to just be working out. I have a lot of errands to run. I have a lot of clothes to wash first.”
Plaisance said she is two credits away from graduating from LSU. She added that she will finish her schooling online while in Tulsa.
LSU women’s basketball player Theresa Plaisance makes a push toward the basket during a game last season. The former Vandebilt Catholic standout was picked in the third round of the WNBA Draft this week by the Tulsa Shock.
