As the WNBA prepares to tip off its fourth season, here are five players who could be impact newcomers in 2000:

	Martin

Maylana Martin, Minnesota (UCLA), 6-3, F: Pac-10 Player of the Year (1999). All-Pac-10 first team (four years). Averaged 17.4 points and 8.7 boards as a senior. All good. But here's where she earns our props: Martin is a first-degree black belt in tae kwon do, which should get her extra space.

Summer Erb, Charlotte (N.C. State), 6-6, C: She has the WNBA's coolest name, and she's got game. Erb adds to the Sting's N.C. State flava -- Rhonda Mapp and Andrea Stinson also played for the Wolfpack. With her size and low post skills, Erb could start, but an old foot injury had the team's top draft pick sidelined throughout training camp.

Shawnetta Stewart, Orlando (Rutgers), 5-10, G: Trivia question: Who's the all-time leading scorer in Philadelphia public school history? (Clue: It ain't Wilt.) The correct answer is Stewart, who was known as "Baby Barkley" in high school when she broke Chamberlain's record of 2,252 points. Stewart's a third-round pick who averaged 14.6 points and 6.3 rebounds while leading the Scarlet Knights to the 2000 Final Four.

Helen Darling, Cleveland (Penn State), 5-7, G: Tiny package (the 2000 Naismith Small Player of the Year), but huge expectations. As a point guard at Penn State last season, Darling was the Big Ten Player of the Year and averaged 7.8 assists per game.

Katy Steding, Sacramento (Stanford), 6-0, F: She led Stanford to the 1990 NCAA title; now, Steding helps bolster one of the league's most improved teams. Joins fellow 1996 Olympic gold medalist Ruthie Bolton-Holifield.

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