AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Swin Cash slowly walked to a photo shoot with a tired look on her face.

It seemed as if the star of the defending WNBA champion Detroit Shock wanted to be anywhere else. But when the camera clicked, Cash smiled, her eyes lit up and her charisma took over.

	Swin Cash was one assist shy of a triple-double in Game 3 of last year's WNBA Finals.

"My whole life, when I stepped on a stage to do a play in middle or high school, or a speech, or stepped on the basketball court, it's like, 'Showtime!' '' Cash later explained. "Being on stage, wherever it is, is a comfort zone for me.''

Winning championships in high school, college and the pros -- and having a chance to win gold at the Athens Olympics -- would probably be enough for most.

Not for Cash.

While Cash looks to lead the Shock to another title when their season starts Saturday at San Antonio, she also wants to pursue opportunities to be an actress and a model.

"It fits into my mindset that I will not limit myself because I grew up in the projects, or because I'm dark-skinned, or because some people don't think athletes should be actors or models,'' Cash said.

She already has done a photo shoot for Elle magazine that hasn't been published yet, she plays a part in an upcoming reality show on UPN, and she's in talks with Lifetime about another project.

Cash's life story is as compelling as her career is impressive.

She was raised in a housing project in McKeesport, Pa., about 15 miles from Pittsburgh, where a bullet once shot through a window and was lodged inside her apartment.

Last September, some saw Cash crying while cradling the WNBA championship trophy on the floor of Detroit's locker room. Earlier this week, she finally revealed then the source of her tears.

"There were 1,000 things going through my mind,'' she said. "My mom went through a whole ordeal about whether to have an abortion, or to keep me because she was a senior in high school. Then, I grew up in the projects with a mother fighting to get off welfare, and a father who wasn't around because my parents separated when I was young.

"At Connecticut, I had to fight because I was surrounded by All-Americans. Then I get to the WNBA, and I'm playing for a team that some said wouldn't be around much longer.''

Her perseverance keeps paying off.

When Cash wasn't among the first players selected to the U.S. women's basketball team set to compete in Athens, she was determined to make the team during its spring-training sessions.

Last week, she did.

"She was in a fight to make the team, but with her unbelievable desire to succeed, she played her way onto the team with grit and sweat,'' U.S. coach Van Chancellor said. "Swin is one of the most tenacious, old-school type players I've been around.''

Cynthia Cash said her daughter has become an inspiration in her hometown.

"Some of the kids that live in public housing look at her and see that you can achieve anything you want if you're willing to work hard,'' she said. "We didn't have a whole lot, but Swin never let that stop her.''

Before the Shock played an exhibition game in Pittsburgh last weekend, Cash went back to McKeesport to give away boxes of food and essentials to nearly 1,000 families, plus shoes and other products to children. And May 14 was declared "Swin Cash Day'' by the town's mayor.

"I used to always tell my players, 'Don't forget where you came from,' and Swin never has,'' said Gerald Grayson, Cash's coach at McKeesport High.

Besides her talent, Shock coach Bill Laimbeer said Cash's work ethic and leadership have made her one of the game's best winners.

"She won a championship in high school, two in college, one in the WNBA and now she has a chance for an Olympic gold medal,'' Laimbeer said. "Magic Johnson is the only other basketball player I can think of who has done all of that.

"She is the whole package -- and is a star -- on and off the court. If she was in the NBA, the whole world would know who she is.''

Last year in her second pro season, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 16.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists. Indiana's Tamika Catchings was the only other player in the league ranked among the top 20 in those categories.

The Shock won a league-best 25 games in 2003, a year after finishing at the bottom of the WNBA with a 9-23 record.

Shock vice president of operations Kristin Bernert said the team already has generated more revenue from ticket sales than it did during the 2003 regular season, although she declined to provide specific numbers.

"Other than a winning product, I think the No. 2 thing that drives ticket sales is having charismatic star players,'' Bernert said. "And Swin Cash is the most charismatic player in the WNBA.''