Columnist Steve Guiremand: Retire Frohlich’s jersey

Steve Guiremand

Friday, May 3, 2002 | 9:38 a.m.

Steve Guiremand is a Sun sportswriter. He can be reached at steveg@ lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-2324.

The jersey numbers of two former Lady Rebel basketball players, Misty Thomas (No. 4) and Pauline Jordan (No. 50), currently can be found retired to the rafters at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Expect to see a third one -- the No. 13 of Linda Frohlich -- to be added soon. And for very good reason.

It's easy to get caught up in statistics when explaining why the 6-foot-2 forward from the tiny German village of Oldendorf should have her number retired.

Frohlich, the first Lady Rebel to be drafted by the WNBA, broke Thomas' school career scoring mark with 2,355 points and Jordan's career rebound mark with 1,124 en route to three consecutive Mountain West Conference Player of the Year awards. She was a third team All-American this year.

But those impressive numbers pale in comparison to the way Frohlich conducted herself off the court during her four years in Las Vegas.

It was Frohlich who ended each home game by taking a courtside microphone and thanking the fans in attendance for their support, then signing countless autographs.

It was Frohlich who became the poster -- and billboard -- girl for UNLV women's athletics. That involved extra time visiting local schools and churches selling the improving Lady Rebel program to fans.

It was Frohlich who continually went out of her way during her numerous interviews to acknowledge the contributions of her teammates and coaches to her success.

When you describe Frohlich's play on the court, the words "skilled" and "fundamentally sound" come to mind. When you think of her performance off the court, the words "humble" and "unassuming" fit the bill. In 25 years of covering sports for a newspaper, I'd rate her right up there with a couple of former USC football players I covered, Rodney Peete and Mark Carrier, as the classiest I've dealt with.

Simply put, she was a role model for how all students -- not just student-athletes -- should conduct themselves.

Case in point: After Frohlich broke Thomas' career scoring mark in a victory at Nevada-Reno this season, it was up to this reporter to remind her about the play which had broken the mark. Frohlich seemed more relieved that all the media attention leading up to the game was finally coming to an end and seemed more satisfied that the Lady Rebels had beaten their in-state rivals in Reno.

A few hours later, Frohlich was in the Reno airport waiting for the flight home. No, she wasn't celebrating her new school scoring record but instead was quietly studying for final exams.

Frohlich's impact on Lady Rebel basketball is such that one booster, Cynthia Ritchie, has even organized a bus trip to Los Angeles for her WNBA debut on May 25 against the defending champion Los Angeles Sparks.

Those who make the trip, or watch the game on NBC, will no doubt find it strange to see Frohlich wearing jersey No. 31 instead of the "lucky" 13 she wore so well at UNLV.

Liberty forward Mactabene Amachree already had the rights to No. 13 before Frohlich was drafted and didn't want to switch. So Frohlich simply reversed the numbers and will wear No. 31 for New York. For now, anyway.

But for Lady Rebel basketball fans, Frohlich will always be remembered not only for helping turn a 4-23 program into an NCAA Tournament squad but for the classy way she wore No. 13 for the past four years.

Now it's time to put that jersey where it rightfully belongs ... in the rafters at the Thomas & Mack Center.