By Kathy Orton, Special to The Washington Post, Friday, May 2, 2003;
Page D02

Barely a week before their preseason opener, the Washington Mystics
hurriedly opened training camp yesterday at MCI Center. Although only
two of the team's expected starting five players were on the court,
Coach Marianne Stanley was pleased with the early results.

"We kind of slammed this thing together real quick," Stanley
said. "Ideally, you'd like to have more time. We're not in an ideal
situation, but it's a good one."

The belated start to training camp was the result of protracted labor
negotiations, which ended with the completion of a new collective
bargaining agreement last week. Consequently, most veterans had to
sign new contracts with their teams this week before the start of
camp.

Among those who missed yesterday's practice were forwards Murriel
Page and Asjha Jones, guards Coco Miller and Annie Burgess and rookie
first-round draft choice Aiysha Smith.

The only starters to take part were forward Chamique Holdsclaw and
guard Stacey Dales-Schuman, the top two scorers from last year's
Eastern Conference-finalist squad that finished 17-15. But Stanley,
the 2002 WNBA coach of the year, had 13 players on the floor working
on several plays -- more than usual for the first day of practice.
The preseason opener is May 9 at Minnesota; the regular season begins
May 23 at Charlotte.

Holdsclaw, who spent her offseason playing in South Korea, was
pleased with what she saw on the first day.

"Everyone has stepped up their game a notch, whether it be better
condition, better shooting or better attitude," she said. "I think
everybody knows what it takes and they're hungry."

Page was in attendance, but in street clothes. Page, who is expected
to take the place of retired Vicky Bullett, signed her contract
yesterday but arrived from Mississippi too late to participate.
Miller, named the WNBA's most improved player last season, was not at
practice. She is expected to sign within the next couple of days.

Jones, Burgess and guard Helen Luz are finishing up their overseas
commitments. Jones, a key reserve for the Mystics last season, is in
Russia and should return next week. Luz, who is in Brazil, and
Burgess, who is in France, won't arrive until mid-May.

Other players not in attendance were Smith, second-round draft pick
Zuzana Zirkova and center Tausha Mills. Smith took a final exam at
Louisiana State yesterday and was not expected to arrive until late
last night. She will go through a physical this morning before
participating in the afternoon practice.

Zirkova is overseas playing in the European league. Her arrival will
depend on how far her team advances in the playoffs. Mills has yet to
sign a contract with the Mystics.

Stanley was not too upset that several core players were missing.
Their absence gave her a chance to better evaluate the reserves. She
was particularly pleased with second-year player Keisha Brown, who
played in 18 games for the Mystics last season, mostly as Burgess's
backup.

"If you have everybody here, you can't look adequately at everybody
all the time," Stanley said. "I like to catch people doing things
well and doing them right. I caught some people doing some things
well today."