Being a star at Iowa State doesn’t mean you are going to be a star after you graduate. But for former Cyclone point guard, Stacy Frese it did.

Actually, it meant she would be playing for the Utah Starzz as a third-round draft choice in the WNBA.

Frese has graduated and moved on to the real world, but that doesn’t mean that she is through playing basketball. She is now a point guard for the Utah Starzz of the WNBA.

Her first summer job after college is seeing Frese pick up where she left off, shooting lights out for her team. Of course, stats aren’t of major importance to her. “Oh, am I?,” Frese asked after she was told she was eighth in the league in 3-point shooting percentage.

Frese is already seeing solid playing time with Utah, due to the wrist injury that has sidelined starting point guard Jennifer Azzi for the next four weeks.

“We are utilizing her a great deal,” said Starzz head coach Fred Williams. He said that after the return of Azzi, she can expect to see 10-15 minutes a game.

Fifteen minutes will be quite a step down from the playing time Frese got at Iowa State.

She averaged more than 32 minutes her final season as a Cyclone but she said she doesn’t mind.

“You have to prove yourself here,” Frese said. “You have to show you can produce.”

She admits she is starting from scratch in the WNBA. She was a star in the Big 12 and a fan favorite at Hilton Coliseum, but now she has moved to Utah where she isn’t the big name.

Frese understands that the fans in Utah don’t know her as well as Cyclone fans.

“It’s a big problem for some people, but I don’t mind it at all,” she said.

She said she liked the challenge of having to win over the new fans.

Starzz fans may get the chance to get to know Frese. Coach Williams said there are many things that he has seen so far that he likes, her poise being one.

“She doesn’t get rattled,” he said, “she always keeps her cool.”

Williams said Frese is the type of playerwhom he would love to see stay in Utah her whole career.

“She will get limited minutes this season,” Williams explained, “but I look for her to have a long-term career with the Starzz.”

Frese said she would enjoy the opportunity to spend her career in Utah. But Williams said she does have a few things to work on, namely her defensive play and she definitely needs to put on a few pounds.

Frese understands this.

She said going to the pros is just like going “from high school to college. Everyone is bigger, stronger and quicker.”

Frese explained the defensive pressure is twice what it was in the Big 12. Frese said that while the WNBA fans are still loud, they aren’t the same as they were in college.

The first game at Utah brought in 6,000 fans, but they didn’t get into the game like the fans at Hilton used to.

Starzz fans already have certain similarities to Cyclone fans. Well, at least one person does.

At Cyclone games, Marcus Fizer could often be seen supporting the women in action. At Starzz games, the player that Fizer is often compared to can be seen in the front row. That player is the Utah Jazz power forward Karl Malone.

He sits in the front row and cheers for the his hometown team. “Karl is loud, you can hear him anywhere on the floor,” Frese said.

The first away game of Frese’s career was at Los Angeles, and she was a bit surprised. It was played at the Great Western Forum, not the brand new Staples Center.

“It was kind of dingy. It wasn’t what I thought it would be; it was small,” she said, “I guess that is why they got a new one.”

She said that she thought it would be much more loud and energetic. But she said it was still cool playing there, knowing that Magic Johnson and other Lakers stars have graced the court.

Along with adjusting to a new style of play, Frese also has to get used to her new surroundings.

“Utah is a lot like Ames; there’s not that much to do,” she said. “So it hasn’t been that hard to adjust.”

Williams said he thinks that the hardest thing for new players to do is manage their time.

In college there is always class to go to or something to study. In the pros, there is practice and then there is … well, there isn’t much else.

Lately, Frese has been reading books or going to movies. The hardest thing for her so far is being so far from home.

Her family still lives in Cedar Rapids, and her boyfriend resides in Ames.

She said it was difficult during the preseason, but now that the regular season is underway and the team is traveling more, time goes by faster.

Frese has had a little help adjusting. Former University of Iowa basketball player Amy Herrig, who was a roommate of Frese when they both were Hawkeyes, plays on the Starzz team.

“It felt good to know someone right away,” Frese said.

She went on to say that the rest of the team treated her well, also. There has been no rookie hazing. “Everyone gets along well,” Frese said.

Frese credited the coaching staff for making the transition easy. “They are very positive, they don’t yell much at all,” she said.

Frese explained it is almost impossible to compare her new coach to her college coach, Bill Fennelly.

She said at the college level there is so much more depth in the coaching. There are more meetings and more films are watched.

At the pro level, she said that most of the players have more experience than the coaches.

So far she is very happy to have Williams as her coach.

“He is real laid-back,” she said.

The most important thing on player’s and coaches’ minds is winning.

Frese said that getting into one of the four playoff spots for the Western Conference is going to be tough, because the West is much better than the East.

In the West, there is the Houston Comets — who have won all three WNBA championships — Sacramento and Phoenix.

Frese said all of those teams are very good and the rest of the conference will fight for the last spot in the playoffs.

“We have to win our games against the Eastern Conference if we want to have a chance,” said Frese.

And after the season is over Frese plans to go back to school. The marketing and management major knows she will have to get another job sometime, but “if I can make $30,000 in the summer, it would be nice,” she said.

Frese also might travel overseas to play. When she was a little kid, she thought that playing overseas was the only chance to play professionally for women, so she is grateful to have the WNBA.

But she still plans to fly to France to play ball after her first pro season. She said there is always room for improvement in her game, and she wants to get better for next year.

As for now, Frese will enjoy her playing time and try to prove herself before Azzi returns from her injury. The rest of the year may be a learning experience, but down the road, if her shots keep falling, Utah opponents may be on a Frese alert.