CITY GIRL WHISLER, FROM TINY PARACLETE, FINDS SUCCESS AT USF.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

SAN FRANCISCO - Kim Whisler had it easy throughout her prep basketball career at Paraclete High in Lancaster.

Her basketball skills were unpolished. However, it didn't matter. She was 6-foot-4 and a gifted athlete, which left her undersized opponents helpless. She also thrived in the classroom and had a great social life.

Then the small-town girl from Littlerock entered the University of San Francisco as a freshman in the Fall of 1997 and discovered that adjusting to Division I college ball and life in the big city was anything but easy.

Three-plus years later, Whisler has arrived - both on and off the court. The senior center is the team leading in scoring (14.7 points per game) and rebounding (8.4) this season and she has an outside chance of playing in the WNBA.

Whisler will make her final regular-season Los Angeles-area appearances this weekend when the Dons play Pepperdine on Friday at Firestone Fieldhouse at 7 p.m and Loyola Marymount at Gersten Pavilion at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

``I didn't have any moves, people were just as tall as me, quicker than me, more athletic than I am, and I was just like, `Oh my God, I'm in trouble,' '' Whisler said, recalling her experience as an incoming freshman at USF.

And that was just the basketball.

Reared in the relatively insulated Antelope Valley, she wasn't ready for life in San Francisco.

``I come from a really tiny small town, and then boom,'' said Whisler, who was taken back by ``how diverse everything is (in San Francisco) and how people are so open and free about everything.

``I was shocked. I didn't know what to say, and I didn't want to look like I didn't know what anything was.''

The difficulty she had adjusting was exacerbated by other problems - clashes with her roommate, struggles with her first-year chemistry class and the seemingly endless downpours brought on by El Nino.

And, perhaps most significant, she suffered a knee injury toward the end of her first season that required off-season surgery.

``There was nothing positive about freshman year,'' she said. ``That was definitely the hardest thing I've ever gone through in my life.''

That year is now a distant memory. Looking back, she sees it as a learning experience that.

Today, the once-timid small-town girl has evolved into a confident woman who is comfortable with the niche she has created for herself.

``I feel like I'm on top of the world right now,'' she said.

She has a lot to feel good about.

The team is off to its best start since Whisler joined the program. The Dons (7-6, 3-1) have won five of their last six games and are in contention for the West Coast Conference title.

And she has been playing by far the best ball of her collegiate career. Most recently, she was named the West Coast Conference player of the week for Jan. 1-7, when she averaged 19.3 points and 11 rebounds through thee games.

Whisler can't wait to show the hometown fans how much she and the team have improved.

``She's really blossommed this year,'' said USF point guard Linsdey Huff. ``She's gotten much better and she knows it. ``. . . She has great hands. For someone that size, her hand-eye coordination is tremendous.''

Whisler attributes her success and that of the team to subtle changes, including a restructuring of the team's coaching staff. Mary Hile-Nepfel and husband Bill Nepfel shared coaching duties the past three year but Nepfel stepped down after last season, leaving Hile-Nepfel in charge.

Last spring, Hile-Nepfel told Whisler that she expected her to become the team's leader and Whisler hasn't disappointed.

``In the past, she's just been kind of there,'' Hile-Nepfel said of Whisler, who in her three previous seasons averaged 4.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 13.3 minutes in 68 games.

``(Now) she's playing with a lot of confidence. There's a sense of purpose when she steps on the floor that I have not seen before.''

Whisler remembers her experience at Paraclete fondly - but it had its drawbacks. She said the small, parochial school helped prepare for academically for USF but that competing in the High Desert League - in which she was a two-time co-MVP - did not give her the opportunity to sharpen her basketball skills.

However, she made the most of the situation.

``She was always willing to push and be the leader that we needed and wanted her to be,'' Paraclete coach Susan Hervey said. ``You never had to ask she always did it.''

``She's a great leader, a great player, and a wonderful person.''

Whisler's career might be coming to an end, which is a depressing concept for her. For the first time since she joined a youth volleyball team in fourth grade, she'll no longer be part of a team.

She plans to pursue a graduate degree in physical therapy and pursue the field as a career. However, she might put that on hold: Hile-Nepfel believes her star could play professionally in Europe and possibly the WNBA and Whisler hasn't ruled anything out.

``If she continues to have the kind of season she's had so far,'' Hile-Nepfel said. ``I think that WNBA scouts will definitely take a look at her.''

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Kim Whisler was overwhelmed when she made the move from Paraclete High to USF but has bloosed as a senior.