A LoboLand Interview with Former
Former UNLV Lady Rebel and Lobo nemeses, and current New York Liberty WNBA player Linda Frolic has been gracious to an interview for Loboland readers. Loboland women's basketball fans are well aware of her exploits and honors. The 6' 2" forward from Oldendorf, Germany was the Mountain West Player of the Year in her last three seasons. She was either the conference leader or among the leaders in many statistical categories during her entire college career, but best known for her ability to rack up points from anywhere on the court. She was not only an achiever on the court but off the court as well, earning conference All-Academic team honors and in addition made the Verizon/CoSIDA Academic First Team. The all time leading scorer and rebounder for the University of Nevada Las Vegas Lady Rebels was the first pick of the WNBA New York Liberty and 26th pick overall in the WNBA. She has seen limited playing time for the Liberty but her minutes increased as the season progressed, as she averaged 7 minutes a game for the first three Liberty play off games. Click here for pictures of Linda and for more information about her many awards. Read on in a question and answer format to learn more about her expierences and thoughts. Q. Any top-level athlete with a strong program, college or professional, will face difficult challenges and demands. What is the difference between the demands of the WNBA as opposed to college? What do you feel are your most difficult challenges and what to you do to help you meet those challenges? A. Life in the WNBA is a lot different than in college. The WNBA is a business where you get paid to perform. As a result of this you have to be ready in all aspects of this business. You have to be ready physically by being in shape and staying in shape along with taking care of any injuries you may have. You also have to be mentally ready. You have to be prepared for the traveling and the pressure that is put on by winning and performing at a high level on a constant basis. One example would be this: In college athletes are protected by the NCAA rules, which for instance, does not allow a team to practice more than 20 hours a week, but in the WNBA that rule doesn't exist. And let me tell you, as much as I disagree with the NCAA rules per se, there were many days in New York I wished some of them back. Training camp in New York was crazy! The hardest thing was probably that I didn't know what to expect. Our head coach decided to practice once instead of twice a day, which sounded great at the beginning, but what this meant was we had one EXTRA LONG practice of usually 4 hours, not including weight training. It was very tough to stay focused, and mentally and physically sharp for all this time, especially knowing that everybody is out there competing for a job - 11 spots for 19 to 20 women. In the regular season we practiced as long as the coaches thought would be necessary to get ready, which meant 2 to 4 hours. This never included weight training, watching game film, or community work. The thing that helped me meet all the challenges was my ambition to be a WNBA player. I knew that it would be a learning process, so I didn't get too disappointed and stayed positive when something didn't work right away; I kept learning and improving each day. During training camp I made sure I would never quit because I knew that everyday counted. That took a lot of focus and hard work. One thing that also helped me was to watch the older players. I tried to learn from their experience and knowledge on the basketball court. Q. Most of your life you have been the backbone of your teams. As a first year WNBA player you have seen limited playing time, as would be expected from a first year player. Being the competitor you are how tough has this been on you? A. It was pretty tough because I believe in myself as a basketball player. I believe in what I could do on the court, and it was hard not to get the opportunity to prove myself. But I also was very fortunate. In practice I went against some of the best post players in the WNBA in Tari Phillips, Tamika Whitmore, and Sue Wicks. And I also was one of the only three rookies to go to the WNBA Championship. These experiences will definitely help me in the upcoming season. My limited playing time in New Yourk made me realize that if you want to play, you have to take full advantage once you are on the court: there is no time to rest. Hopefully that will take my game to a higher level. Q. Please tell us about some of the high points of your first year playing for the Liberty? A. The high point of the season is playing basketball in New York. New Yorkers love the Liberty and we love them. They make going to work every day enjoyable. Knowing that we represent a great city like New York pushes me a little further each day. Another high point was definitely I learned a lot this season. My teammates taught me what it takes to be a professional, teammates like Vickie Johnson, Kori Hlede, Sue Wicks, Becky Hammon, Teresa Weatherspoon, Crystal Robinson....well, all of them taught me something different, which makes my rookie season so valuable. Q What are you doing during the off-season to improve your game? A. Right now I am playing club basketball in the First Italian League. A lot of WNBA players play here during the off-season, which makes this league very competitive. Almost each team has at least two American WNBA players. My New York teammate Vickie Johnson has joined me on my team in Rovereto, as well as USA national team player and WNBA champion Tamecka Dixon from the Los Angeles Sparks. Besides this, I also played for the German National Team in November. In late March I am planning on getting back to New York to start working out individually with the Liberty. Q. If you were to advise a future WNBA prospect, such as our Jordan Adams with the Lobos, on what she needs to do to increase her chances of playing in the WNBA what advice would you give? A. As a player you have to understand what you do best and then take that to another level. In the WNBA everyone can score, but not a lot of girls can play defense. If I could advise Jordan Adams I would tell her to become the best shot blocker and defender in the nation. Jordan has great size so a lot of teams are already looking at her. If she also would get a signature move on offense and add two options to that, she will be just fine and will find herself on a WNBA roster next year. Q. As a student athlete free time was probably a rare commodity. Do you have more free time as a WNBA player and how do you spend your free time in the "Big Apple"? A. In New York I had a lot of free time, but that is not always a good thing. Many times I would go to practice and just come home. I think though that you have to find something else to do during the season. In college it was my school work and church that took my mind off of basketball. In New York all I really did was to stay at home, or go to the moview (we had a free movie pass and to say I took full advantage of that pass would be an understatement!). When I had friends in town I would get my tired sore body out of my hotel room (that is where I live throughout the whole season) and take them through the city, walk in Central Park, or visit a Broadway show. Q. Charles Barkley, a former NBA player sometimes known for controversial remarks, once said professional athletes are not role models. Do you agree or disagree and could you tell us why? A. I believe parents should be our primary role models. I know mine are, but I also understand not everyone is blessed with a great family life as I am. In that case, I believe professional athletes, and other people who are watched by the public step into the picture as role models for kids. Witht he platform they get through the media etc., they are able to influence the youth of the world. I feel it is my responsibility to give back to others what I received from my parents. And that's why I personally love to be a role model. Some people might look at it as a burden, but I look at it as an opportunity to serve. When it is all said and done what we as athletes accomplished on the basketball court, it going to be the way we served others, which will always hold meaning in the game of life. Q. Since you were recruited by UNM many of us one time thought you might become a Lobo. In fact, there was sometimes speculation of what kind of team we would have if you played for us. Could you tell Loboland readers just how close you were to signing with UNM and also tell us your impression of our program and fans? A. I was really very close to becoming a Lobo. I admire and respect Lobo coach Don Flanagan a great deal, and he was the reason why I almost signed with UNM. To tell you the truth. I don't know why I didn't sign with the Lobos, but I believe God was in control and I was just meant to be a Rebel 4 life. I still feel very close to the Lobos though, and every time we visited Albuquerque I felt it was a little bit my home. My impression of the Lobo program is that it is excellent. I believe coach Flanagan has been able to keep his players well coached and to establish a reputation for the Lobo's program to be a class act. The fans and the community are indescribable. Last year I played in front of the second biggest crowd in NCAA women's basketball at UNM and that alone says a lot about the fans of the Lobos. I loved them even though they used to root against the Rebels and me. Q. You have been an achiever all your life and of course much of what you have achieved has taken place on the basketball court. What do you hope to achieve after your career in the WNBA? A. I hope that after my WNBA career I am going to be able to get a Doctorate Degree in Psychology so that one day I will be able to have my own little counseling office. Besides that I would like to get involved in church again, be healthy, happily married, and become the mother of 5 children (a little basketball team!*Smile*!). Loboland and I thank you for your time and effort with this interview. We wish you the best and hope you match all your successes from the college level in your career in the WNBA and in everything else you do. You were a tremendous asset to our conference and we are proud to have you continue to represent our conference in your professional career. Gary Stepic
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