Frohlich adjusting to life as pro hoops player

Friday, Dec. 27, 2002 | 9:58 a.m.

It has taken a stint back in Europe for Linda Frohlich to realize how American she had become during four years playing basketball at UNLV and a professional season in New York.

After the sixth grade in Germany, Frohlich's native land, students are either sent to first-, second- or third-level schools. For aspiring doctors or such, the pressure is on early to stay on the first-level track toward prestigious universities.

"At each level, your options decrease," Frohlich said. "I learned, in America, to be a little more relaxed. The mindset, the attitude of certain things. You finish high school, it doesn't matter (much) how you did ... you go ahead and take the SAT, and so on.

"You can make it, if you work."

Trying to make it as a professional basketball player in New York is what spurred Frohlich to play for Risto Rovereto, in the Italian first division. Passing what she has learned onto others was her goal this week at her first youth basketball camp, which runs through Saturday at UNLV.

"It's the first time I'm allowed to put my name on something," Frohlich said recently by phone from Rovereto. "Once I step out to that camp, I will probably realize for good that I'm a professional athlete. I am super excited."

Over the last three months, she realized how much she took for granted, too. A movie that came out in the U.S. in September is only now reaching Italy. As a Rebel, she could shop for groceries 24 hours a day. In Rovereto, stores close Mondays.

During a trip to Venice almost two weeks ago, she rode in an authentic gondola on one of the city's famous canals. Last week in Milan, the fashion capitol of the world, the Gucci and Versace shops amazed her.

"It was very, very interesting," Frohlich said. "I thought, 'OK, well, this is the (ital please) real (end ital) one ... this is not the one built into the Bellagio.' That's interesting, too. But (in Milan) I thought, 'This is real.' To see those things in real life ... "

Frohlich, UNLV's all-time scoring leader with 2,355 points, has been traveling at a hectic pace since she left Las Vegas.

She was drafted by the New York Liberty, where she played 67 minutes in 16 games as a rookie, going 1-for-10 from the field.

"Not playing in New York ... not that I didn't like it, but it does play with your self-confidence a little bit," Frohlich said. "I'm trying to get that back and get mentally stronger."