The Lowdown

Five things you need to know about the WNBA this season

Michele Timms of the Phoenix Mercury John W. McDonough

1 The league's foreign star power will take a big hit . Michele Timms, Phoenix's floor general and Australia's national team captain, will prep for the Olympics by playing in the WNBA rather than by training at home. But Timms will be almost the only international star to do so. The Aussies have a good chance to win gold, and their basketball federation has urged the eight national teamers who play in the WNBA to train together in Melbourne this summer; only Timms has refused. Look for most of the 10 Olympians from five other foreign countries to stay home as well.

2 Players' salaries won't become a huge issue -- yet . Jennifer Azzi, who led Detroit in scoring and the WNBA in three-point shooting in '99, quit the league in April after being offered only a slight raise from the $44,000 she made last year. Money is also one reason that Teresa Edwards, soon to be a five-time Olympian, has thus far declined to play in the league. Salaries will continue to be a controversial issue, but, for now at least, most players will accept the current pay scale (average salary: $55,000) for the chance to play professionally in the U.S.

3 Rebecca Lobo will be back . The 6'4" forward tore her left ACL last July and again in December, but she should be back in New York's lineup as early as mid-June. Liberty fans will also be pleased to know that center Kym Hampton will return for another season. Lobo and Hampton, along with veteran Sue Wicks and rising star Tamika Whitmore will form a powerful frontcourt quartet come playoff time.

4 You'll see more male coaches . When the league debuted, in 1997, seven of the eight coaches were female. Now nine of the 16 are male. A more telling number, though, is that only two coaches, Houston's Van Chancellor and Phoenix's Cheryl Miller, remain from that first year. Most of the prominent college coaches aren't willing to leave their high-paying, fairly stable positions for the WNBA's less secure jobs. Until the league provides the same financial incentives for coaches as the top college programs do, the Pat Summitts of the game will stay put.

5 Yolanda Griffith will be named MVP again . With her right knee healed from the cartilage tear she suffered last August, Yo is coming off a strong performance with the U.S. national team this spring, when she averaged 9.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 24 games. Look for Griffith to lead Sacramento back to the playoffs and collect some more hardware for her mantel.

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