"Busy, busy, busy."

	As the top-rated prospect coming out of high school in 1995, Holdsclaw could have attended any college or university in the country.

June Holdsclaw sat in her brick tenement apartment in Astoria, N.Y., explaining why her granddaughter may not be able to go on their planned vacation to Montana. The duo's four-day trip to visit relatives was Chamique's idea, but her schedule was quickly filling up and June had yet to hear if the journey was still on.

"She's been so busy since college, and especially now with that ?other' team," says June Holdsclaw, 63, referring to Chamique's obligations as a member of the women's basketball team that will represent the United States in the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. "Since college, she's been busy, busy, busy."

To be sure, Chamique Holdsclaw has a full plate of responsibilities these days. There are speaking engagements, marketing obligations, TV and radio spots to attend to, and, of course, the start of preseason basketball camp. The tidal wave of attention was expected, but, according to June, one simply cannot prepare for super-stardom.

In 1999, Holdsclaw's senior year at the University of Tennessee, the 6-foot-2 forward was selected by the Washington Mystics with the No. 1 overall draft pick. In the very moment WNBA president Vic Ackerman announced Holdsclaw's name, a league's worth of expectations fell on the 21-year-old's shoulders.

Coming out of college, Holdsclaw was already being touted as the "female Michael Jordan" , due to her ability to shake defenders and drive to the basketball with the same relative ease as canning a 12-foot jumper , and was coming into a fledgling league desperate for marketable star players. She did little to disappoint.

Holdsclaw finished the 1999-2000 season with 16.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. She also shot 44 percent from the floor and 77 percent from the free-throw line in helping Washington to a 12-20 record ? not great, but a vast improvement from its 3-27 showing the season before Holdsclaw arrived. She was voted a starter for the East team in the league's inaugural All-Star game and later took home Rookie of the Year honors.

As one can imagine, Holdsclaw has been a busy girl ever since.

"She's obviously very talented, but once she gets off the court she talks the game well," says Mystics coach Nancy Darsch, whose team will be kicking off its second season under her tutelage on May 31. "She understands the big picture as far as what her role is in all this marketing blitz and what her responsibility is. That's endeared her to a lot of people."

But for Holdsclaw, who will turn just 23 on July 9, the big picture can often be overwhelming.

"When I was growing up and even in high school, I never even dreamed about playing professionally," says Holdsclaw, who made the WNBA maximum rookie salary of $50,000 last season. "There wasn't a pro league or any talk of one. I thought about using basketball to get a scholarship to college, but then I imagined myself getting a job or going to law school. I never expected to be here."

The irony is that most people on and around the Christ the King High (Middle Village, N.Y.) girls' basketball team had those expectations of Holdsclaw ? even while she sat on the varsity bench as a freshman. The Royals were the No. 1 team in the state back in 1991 and already had two senior centers taller than 6-feet, but head coach Vinny Cannizzaro saw something special in Holdsclaw and opted to keep her on the varsity team. The skinny freshman proved him to be a genius.

With both of Christ the King's centers suspended for breaking team policy days before the state Catholic Championship game, Holdsclaw got the starting nod and proceeded to score 14 points and grab 14 rebounds to lead the Royals to victory and their ninth straight Catholic Championship crown.

"There were times at practice her freshman year that she'd amaze us," says Bob Mackey, who came to Christ the King as an assistant coach in 1991 and took over the head coaching reins from Cannizzaro in '98. "I remember Vinny once said, ?If this kid can really develop, she could change the face of the game.' We often look back and laugh about that. He was so right."

Holdsclaw earned a starting spot her sophomore season, but few teams had yet to learn of her talent. That fact became imminently clear when public address announcers attempted to call Royals games.

"At center for Christ the King, Shamk Holdsclaw."

"Shami Holdsclaw for two."

"Champ Holdsclaw at the line for a one-and-one."

"But by her senior year," says Mackey, "everyone knew her name."

Holdsclaw was named New York City Player of the Year by the Daily News her sophomore year, which was just the start of the many awards and accolades she would earn over the next two seasons. She helped Christ the King capture the state championship all four years she was on the team and laid the foundation for a streak that is up to 11 straight state championships ? crowned by the Royals' 1999-2000 title.

But even back then, the pressure to succeed, to please everyone around her, was often too much to handle.

"I remember a game her junior year. We played Archbishop Carroll in Philly and it was a snowy day," recalls Mackey. "Chamique was held to something, like, eight points, which was her lowest point total ever, and we lost the game. Afterward, in the locker room, she was on the floor crying like a baby. She blamed herself for us losing the game. She was screaming, ?I'm the worst. I'm quitting.' She was inconsolable.

"I remember it because everyone today sees pictures or videos of her moves, her style, her success," he continues. "But I remember watching this big kid curled up on the floor, just sobbing because we lost a game. It was just a game. That's all it was. But she took it so personally. She hated to lose, and that's why she's so good."

It's also why she ultimately chose to attend the University of Tennessee. As the top-rated prospect coming out of high school in 1995, Holdsclaw could have attended any college or university in the country. She narrowed her choices to Penn State and Tennessee, and committed to the Volunteers immediately following her visit to Knoxville.

During her four years there, Tennessee advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Final Four every year and won three national

	Holdsclaw was voted a starter for the East team in the WNBA's inaugural All-Star game and later took home Rookie of the Year honors.

championships. In her senior season (the only one in which Holdsclaw didn't walk away with a national crown), she averaged 20.2 points and 9 rebounds per game, earned her third straight All-America selection and won the Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete.

Since that season, she has been caught in a whirlwind of basketball celebrity. And there are times when Holdsclaw actually relishes it.

"I think her penchant for giving back to the community is a combination of her grandmother, who was a role model for Chamique growing up, and our program at Tennessee, as well," says Volunteers women's basketball coach Pat Summitt. "We emphasize to our players that they are now role models and we ask them what kind of role models do they want to be? Chamique has really taken that question to heart."

"I remember when I was a kid and I went to watch an NBA team practice," says Holdsclaw. "I remember how much it inspired me. If a girl can meet me and see me as a professional basketball player, she can say to herself, ?One day, I want to be just like that.'"

But "just like that" includes a heavy price.

"Sometimes it gets to her," says Mackey. "She told me back in February, when she came to visit at the school, that she'll sometimes unplug the phone or just want to disappear for awhile. But that's the price you have to pay, I guess."

When Holdsclaw is able to slip away from her many obligations, she is much like the quiet teen she once was back in Astoria.

"I love to shop," says Holdsclaw, who actually skipped her high school senior prom because, according to her grandmother, "she wasn't that type of person." "And I like to listen to music, watch a lot of movies and just hang out with my friends and family. It's basically the same stuff I used to like to do when I was in high school in New York. I haven't changed that much, except that now I can shop a lot more often."

"She's still a little shy," says June Holdsclaw, who raised Chamique since the age of 11, when her parents split up, "but she has grown into the woman that I'd like her to be.

"Sometimes success can go to your head, but I always tell her to remember where you came from and stay humble."

No matter how busy you get.