From the get-go, he set the tone of the trip. On the first day of the Olympic basketball team's training camp, Allen Iverson donned a red-white-and-blue do-rag and signaled to the basketball-viewing world that international competition was now going to be cool.

Now, Team USA is going to have to be cool without him and finish the job he helped start. Before last night's semifinals at the Olympic qualifying tournament, the United States announced that Iverson would miss the rest of the tournament with a sprained right thumb.

With all this talent, this group of NBA All-Stars should be able to get on without Iverson. But it's hard to over-estimate the impact the guard has made in this tournament. Before getting injured Thursday night, Iverson led Team USA in minutes (22.9) and points (14.3). He also was able to transform what could have been a disruptive reunion with head USA coach Larry Brown into the NBA's summer feel good story.

"Allen's been great," Brown said earlier this week. "He's done absolutely everything we've asked him to do."

Iverson was not available before last night's gold-medal game. Though a CT scan taken earlier in the day was negative, the injury is of some concern because it is a re-occurring problem. Iverson has suffered at total of five injuries to thumbs on both hands during his seven NBA seasons, partly because his style of play is so aggressive.