Germany have only collected one medal (bronze in 1997) in their 13 previous EuroBasket Women showings and are appearing on Europe's top stage for just the second time since 1999 - and second straight.

But fans of German women's basketball have plenty to look forward to with a young squad which is gaining top-notch experience abroad, and one of the leaders of Imre Szittya's squad is power forward Linda Fröhlich.

The 28-year-old left her homeland in 1998 and became a superstar at UNLV, finishing as

		Linda retains close ties with German great Marlies Askamp.

the university's all-time leading scorer (men or women) as well as the Lady Rebels' all-time leading rebounder and the first Lady Rebel to record 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career.

She also had her No. 13 jersey retired in December 2003.

Since then she's played four seasons with the New York Liberty, Indiana Fever and Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA as well as starring in Italy, Russia and Turkey in Europe.

Her titles include the 2006 Europe Cup crown and the 2007 Turkey Cup and league championships.

But now, Fröhlich wants to have success at the National Team level.

The daughter of a former women's Latvian star who played a number of years for the Soviet Union National Team took some time to talk to FIBA Europe's David Hein to discuss playing for her country, the state of basketball in Germany, comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki and being a successor to former German great Marlies Askamp.

FIBA Europe: Linda, you are back in Europe after finishing off the season in the WNBA. How does it feel to be back at the EuroBasket Women?

Fröhlich: It's always exciting to come back and play in the European Championship and be with your team-mates that you know for a lot of years. It's fun to be here and it's nicely organised. It's nice to see how women's basketball continues to grow.

FIBA Europe: Women's basketball does not enjoy the highest standing in Germany. What do you think about being part of a team that doesn't get a lot of recognition?

Fröhlich: It's not nice to see that we're not getting recognition. You have to look at the surroundings and the culture of Germany, and basketball is not really the number one sport at all. It's soccer and then handball and volleyball. So we're still behind there. But the men's game is starting to pick it up. And I think and hope that there is going to be our time. But it's not yet. But these are the platforms where people are going to see it. And people are going to say: Oh, we can compete. Why don't we put more effort into our athletes.

FIBA Europe: In the men's game, there is a lot of pessimism about Germany's future after the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Patrick Femerling and Ademola Okulaja retire. Your team, on the other hand, has only an average age of 24.1 years. Do you see a bright future for Germany?

Fröhlich: I do, especially for this team. We do have a lot of players who play overseas - whether that's the WNBA, American college or Russia or Spain. And that will definitely expand our horizons. Once players see what women's pro sports is about - which we don't have in Germany - no complete pro sport - there is going to be more exposure and knowledge to where the natioanl team will continue to grow.

FIBA Europe: How much does the men's team winning EuroBasket 2005 silver and 2002 World Championship bronze help the women's team?

Fröhlich: It helps basketball in Germany which then helps us. So yeah, we have to be excited that they do it. But overall it is still separated in Germany - women's and men's basketball. There's no real connection.

FIBA Europe: You are often called the women's version of Dirk Nowitzki. What do you

		Fröhlich is honoured by comparisons to fellow German Dirk Nowitzki.

think about that?

Fröhlich: Dirk is a great player so to be compared to him is a nice thing. Dirk is somebody everybody knows, so it's an honour to be compared. Of course, I know that I'm somebody else. It's not like i'm insulted or anything. It's an honour.

FIBA Europe: You seem to be the successor to Marlies Askamp, who was really Germany's last great women's player.

Fröhlich: Marlies was the last player from Germany to play in the WNBA that really was a pro for a while. So, successor...man, that's a big word. That's even bigger than the "Female Dirk". I'm just part of the next generation. I learned from Marlies. I learned her professionalism, I learned how she carried herself, how she trained. She just kind of passed it onto the youth and I was the one to be lucky enough to kind of carry it right now.

FIBA Europe: What kind of contact do you have with her?

Fröhlich: The first time I practiced with the women's team was when I was 16, so ever since then I've had lots of contact. I was her roommate and we talked and she told me stories about Europe and America. From then on, it was every summer we would meet - sometimes even in the WNBA.

FIBA Europe: Speaking of the WNBA, your team the New York Liberty played against Askamp's Los Angeles Sparks in the 2002 Finals, which the Sparks won. Was that strange for you?

Fröhlich: It was. But becuase I was on the wrong team! No, but Marlies deserved it. So I'm happy for her. But just like all the other older players like (Martina) Kehrenberg and everyone else - all those players were great to help me be who I am today

FIBA Europe: Your mother was an excellent player from Latvia and played with the Soviet National Team. It must have been great to have a mother like that to teach you the game of basketball?

Fröhlich: Absolutely. She was the one that always told me the little things that coaches don't tell you when you're great. When I was younger I was always the tall one so it was like, just give Linda the ball. But she always told me you're not great. You still have little things to work on. So she saw the work that still needed to be done rather than praising the actual moment and product at that point. And that kept me wanting to grow - and seeing that I needed to grow as a player.

FIBA Europe: Of your four siblings, who plays basketball?

Fröhlich: Everybody did play. My sisters almost went to college but that didn't work out. Richard is the only one who also persues it as a career.

FIBA Europe: Where is he playing and how is he doing?

Fröhlich: He's a sophomore at Citrus College in Glendora, L.A.. He's doing well. His first year he didn't get a lot of playing time  But the overall experience just like my first year was overwhelming and tiring. I hope he can get some playing time and show what he can do.