ESPN.com reports that Larry Brown will be named the coach of the USA Basketball team for the 2004 Olympics. The formal announcement will be made Tuesday.

Brown won a Gold Medal in the 1964 Olympics as a player and has won twice as an assistant coach. He will lead the team through next summer?s qualifying tournament and the 2004 games in Athens.

"If they asked me to be the coach, it'd be the greatest honor going. If they said they had someone else in mind, I'd respect that as well,'' Brown said last week. Other coaches considered for the position were Phil Jackson of the Lakers, Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz and Pat Riley of the Miami Heat.

Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd and Ray Allen have already contacted USA Basketball to say they're willing to play in 2003 and 2004. A core group of eight or nine players is expected to be announced by February, with Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant expected to be shoo-ins if they accept invitations to play.

O'Neal and Bryant "are two of the best players in our league, without question, and with the way other teams around the world have improved, we need our best players -- but also high-character guys. And I think they fit the bill,'' Brown said.