Columnist Dean Juipe: Frohlich fights rap as ‘tweener

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, March 19, 2002 | 8:16 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

She's 22 years old, has a worldliness about her and is easily the best women's basketball player ever to come through UNLV.

But neither those points nor her many other assets make Linda Frohlich a sure thing when it comes to playing at the next level, which, ideally, would be the Women's National Basketball Association. In fact, she may not be up to it.

"I told her, 'You've got to pull out more weapons now, kid,' " Lady Rebels head coach Regina Miller said Monday, referring to a weekend conversation she had with her departing star player. "I told her, 'It's the real world now.' "

For all her talents and her enviable, bring-it-on approach to the sport, Frohlich may be seen as one of those dreaded 'tweeners. At 6-foot-2 she's not tall by professional standards, and it's unlikely that she would develop into a first-rate ball handler after years of playing in the paint as an amateur.

When the 16-team, four-round WNBA draft is held April 19, Frohlich's name will be called -- although maybe not as quickly as you might imagine.

"I've had inquiries about her from Europe already," Miller said, as if the doubts about Frohlich will force her to accept a role in a lesser league.

Likable and the catalyst of the Lady Rebels' turnaround and recently completed 23-8 season, Frohlich was something of a scoring machine at UNLV. Her four-year total of 2,355 points made her the program's all-time leading scorer.

She's also an able rebounder with sufficiently diverse skills and was the player of the year in the Mountain West Conference the past three seasons.

But it's still a big jump to the WNBA and an even bigger jump to get playing time in that league.

"I know some WNBA coaches like her and some say 'It depends,' " Miller said. "I've had mixed feedback from WNBA coaches about her.

"But she's got a good opportunity and it all depends on how she does" at an upcoming all-star game and predraft camp. The game, sponsored by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, will be held at the Final Four, and the camp is April 11-13 in Chicago and will feature 80 to 100 seniors and international players looking to impress WNBA scouts and coaches.

Toward the goal of upgrading her abilities, Frohlich is about to get some heavy duty instruction from her mentor.

"We're going to start playing one-on-one this week," Miller said. "During the season there isn't much time for things like that, but I'm going to start working intently with her to get her ready."

Miller sees Frohlich as a "4" in the pros, which makes her a power forward of sorts.

"At the '3' there are tougher players to defend, but at the '4' Linda can step out and shoot the three and be more agile than the player she's guarding," Miller said. "She also has a nice right-handed hook that you haven't seen."

But as a "4" Frohlich will get muscled around by bigger, bulkier players.

"She's got to get bigger and stronger and tougher, no question about it," Miller said. "But she knows it and we'll work on it."

As Frohlich is poised to discover, she may have learned a great deal in college but her education has just begun.