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.

The story had been rumored on the Internet. There had been a mild buzz in the course of the early games in the Olympic qualifying tournament. But it took until nearly the end of the second round before a source would confirm that the 76ers had negotiated with the agent for Andres Nocioni, a starting forward for Argentina.

Those discussions began in June, but ended because the 6-6 Nocioni is under contract to Tau Ceramica in the Spanish professional league. His agreement with that team includes a large buyout clause.

The source indicated that the Sixers might revisit the situation before the 2004-05 NBA season.

Nocioni leads Argentina with a 13.4 scoring average and .559 floor percentage in eight games in the tournament. He leads the tournament in three-point percentage at .591, knocking down 13 of 22 attempts.

Training camp is nearly upon Allen Iverson, and he's happy about it. Happy that the time of year when two-a-day practices are common has arrived. That tutelage ad nauseum is expected. That expectations and accountability will be placed on his shoulders.

But Iverson is happy, most of all, because he's not alone.

A "Big Dog" arrived in Philadelphia on July 23. One with a career average of 21.1 points per game, a jump shot that goes in under pressure, an arsenal that the Sixers' front line has been lacking since Charles Barkley left town.

"Billy King did his job this summer," said Iverson, fresh off another terrific performance in the Olympic qualifying tournament and a lopsided victory over Puerto Rico on Thursday night. "I can't ask for him to do his job any better than he did.

"B.K. got a legitimate, proven second-scoring option. I'm being as real as I can be when I say this: 'I haven't been this happy heading into a season in a long, long time.' "

Basketball's biggest gunner has been given a reduced load of ammunition. And it hasn't backfired.

Many wondered how Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson would handle having to play more of a team game at the Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Through four U.S. games, Iverson has taken 29 shots, which is often how many he takes in one NBA game.

And how many times has Iverson complained? By unofficial count, none.

"I'm a basketball player," said Iverson, who three times has led the NBA in scoring. "When I play for the Sixers, I'm called on to do other things on the basketball court. Sometimes it takes me to shoot the ball 25 to 30 times in order for us to get a win. There's no way I would have to do a thing like that with a team like this. We're so talented."

Iverson is doing plenty of other things. He's playing defense. He's third on the team in assists. He's grabbing some rebounds.

Iverson, averaging 12 points and a team-leading 21.3 minutes for the undefeated Americans, had his finest game of the tournament in a 113-55 win Saturday against the Virgin Islands. He went 7-for-9, including three three-pointers, for 17 points, the most any American has scored in the tournament.

"It is fun, and it's different," Iverson said of not having to carry a big scoring load. "But you know, I like playing with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Sixers needing me to do a lot more things on the basketball court. But it's fun playing with these guys, too. You don't have to do as much. You just do your part. You accept your role and roll with it."

Tim Duncan was on an island by himself.

He could not bring himself to play for the United States against his native Virgin Islands. He grew up with many of the players on that team. Some were his classmates. And even though St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John are an unincorporated territory of the United States, and even though the Islanders are American citizens, they also consider themselves a somewhat separate entity.

So when the United States faced the Virgin Islands on Saturday in their final opening-round game of the FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Duncan - a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player with the San Antonio Spurs - declined to participate.

He wore his uniform, he warmed up, but he did not tape his ankles. Craig Sager, the analyst for the pay-per-view TV package, showed up an hour before tipoff anticipating taping a pregame interview with Duncan. Instead, he found himself sitting across from Toronto Raptors star Vince Carter. As the session was about to end, Sager was handed a note telling him of Duncan's decision; when Sager posed the question, Carter seemed stunned.

Carter, though, recovered quickly, laughing and saying, "I'm playing against Canada." More seriously, he said, "Tim doesn't say much, but I have to respect his decision."

In truth, Duncan's decision had no effect on the outcome. The Americans won, 113-55, allowing them to enter tonight's start of the medal round with a 4-0 record, averaging 108 points and winning by an average margin of 39.7. The Americans are to play Canada tonight at 10 in the second round.

And Duncan is so quiet and reserved that most of his teammates didn't know his plans until the game began and the Los Angeles Clippers' Elton Brand was starting in his place.

With the 76ers, leading the NBA in scoring three times, you're a star.

With the U.S. National Team, attempting to qualify for next summer's Olympics, you're a starter, but - like everyone else - just another role player.

But on the team bus the other night, preparing to roll out of the Roberto Clemente Coliseum parking lot, you're just plain old Dad.

That's who Allen Iverson was after the United States defeated Brazil in its opener of the 10-team tournament that will send the top three finishers to Athens, Greece. That's who Iverson had to be when Deuce, his 6-year-old son, inadvertently locked himself in the bathroom at the rear of the team bus.

"He went in, locked the door, then didn't know how to open it," Iverson said. "We were trying to get him out. The guy who was driving the bus, after 5 or 10 minutes, came and did something to get him out.

"[Deuce] was calm about it. He didn't panic or anything like that. I panicked. I just wanted him to get out of there before he started to panic. He was cool. He got out; he didn't have a problem with it."

This, then, has been a time for more than one member of the Iverson family to learn lessons, gain knowledge. Dad is making sure that Deuce won't make that mistake again. Dad also is carefully watching his U.S. teammates - All-Stars in their own right - and trying to absorb things that can help him in his own career. Members of the traveling party have lauded Iverson for the way he has conducted himself, the way he has blended with the team.

He has barely looked for his shots. Rather, he has searched for ways to contribute with a team that includes Tim Duncan's and Jermaine O'Neal's dominance around the basket, Jason Kidd's skill in directing an offense, Tracy McGrady's and Vince Carter's offensive explosiveness, and Ray Allen's, Kenyon Martin's and Elton Brand's off-the-bench contributions.

Glenn Robinson is merely the latest and the greatest.

That, at least, is the hope. The 76ers acquired Robinson, a career 19-point scorer in the NBA, as part of a recent four-team trade with Atlanta, New York and Minnesota. He is the newest, and arguably most skilled of the candidates who have been asked to be second banana to Allen Iverson.

While Iverson's primary focus for the moment is the U.S. team's attempt to qualify for next summer's Olympics in Athens, Greece, he also knows his real job is to help breathe life back into a Sixers team that was rudely eliminated from last season's second round of the playoffs by Detroit.

His job last night included scoring 10 points in a 110-76 opening-round victory over Brazil in the Olympic qualifying tournament. Whatever early concerns the United States had were eliminated when they scored 23 of the final 27 points in the third quarter, giving the Americans a 78-55 advantage. Any other concerns were eased as Tim Duncan and Elton Brand had 17 points and six rebounds.

But back to the Sixers. Whatever other moves they have made since the season ended, this one that matters above all the others. Exit Keith Van Horn, sent to the Knicks. Enter Robinson, the Big Dog from the Hawks, as the latest sidekick for Iverson, a three-time scoring champion and the fulcrum of this team.

Allen Iverson is just as intent on finishing his career with the 76ers as he is in helping the United States win a gold medal in next year's Olympics.

Iverson, who has at most two years remaining on a contract that he can opt out of following the 2003-04 season, left no doubt where his loyalties lie.

After scoring 11 points and adding five assists in 26 minutes for the U.S. national team during yesterday's 101-74 exhibition win over Puerto Rico at Madison Square Garden, Iverson stated his desire to finish his professional career where it began. When asked if he was seeking a contract extension with the Sixers, Iverson got right to the point.

"I think that is one of the most important things for me to get done in my life right now," Iverson said. "It's important to make sure I am inked in and know where my career is going and where I am going to be and where my family is going to be."

Iverson is entering his eighth year with the Sixers. He is scheduled to make $13.5 million this season as part of a six-year, $71 million deal.

Iverson's contract for the 2004-05 season is for $14.62 million. If he opts out after the coming season, he would become an unrestricted free agent and could still re-sign with the Sixers.

Last month, Iverson's agent Leon Rose confirmed that he and Billy King, the Sixers' president and general manager, had begun informal discussions on a contract extension. Rose, who attended yesterday's game, said there was nothing new to report on negotiations.

If Iverson signs an extension before the 2003-04 season ends, he can add five years totaling about $96 million - considering the maximum allowed under the league's collective-bargaining agreement - to the $14.62 million for next year.

"I always said from the beginning that I wanted to be a Sixer until my career is over," Iverson said. "I always looked at and respected players like Magic [Johnson] and [Larry] Bird for being able to be with one team. That's the way I want to be."

It was their first game together, so they were feeling each other out. There was apprehension, uneasiness and unfamiliarity.

But there was also Tim Duncan.

Whenever someone made the wrong cut or got caught with the ball in the air, Duncan was there. He was the United States' running, dunking security blanket in the first quarter of yesterday's exhibition game against Puerto Rico, scoring 15 points in the opening nine minutes.

The presence of Duncan is one glaring difference between this squad and the team of N.B.A. stars that finished sixth at last year's world championships. With Duncan's size, skills and savvy, it is hard to imagine the United States doing poorly in the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament, which begins Wednesday in Puerto Rico. Duncan posted game highs of 21 points and 15 rebounds yesterday to lead the United States to a 101-74 victory before 16,473 at Madison Square Garden.

"This guy's the best," Coach Larry Brown said. "Everything our game's supposed to be about, that's what he is."

Duncan is only one reason this team looks ready to redeem the National Basketball Association from last summer's failure. A second quality that is immediately noticeable is the unselfishness of the players. To the surprise of many, Allen Iverson is leading the way in selfless play.

Known as a gunner who has trouble sharing the ball, Iverson has morphed into a Jason Kidd clone. Yesterday, he tied Kidd, his starting backcourt partner, with five assists, and his passing has been nothing short of stunning.

Midway through the first quarter, he tossed a soft pass over a defender into the hands of a sprinting Duncan for a fast-break layup. Later, he lobbed an alley-oop pass from the left wing to Richard Jefferson, who dunked the ball emphatically.

Just as important, Iverson is not forcing his shots. The result was an 11-point performance on 4-of-6 shooting. To those who wondered whether Iverson could adjust to playing with other superstars, he points to his 24 assists in four All-Star Games.

Allen Iverson said Thursday that Kobe Bryant is a victim of his own reputation, one erroneously built by a fawning media.

"I feel like, in this situation, it has to be something, because you can go get Allen Iverson, because Allen Iverson's had brushes with the law before, but to go get Kobe Bryant, 'the squeaky clean human being,' it's got to be something," Iverson, the star guard of the Philadelphia 76ers, said to ESPN.

Bryant has been charged with felony sexual assault on a 19-year-old woman near Eagle, Colo.

"I wasn't shocked at all," said Iverson, who could be a teammate of the Laker guard on next year's U.S. Olympic team. "He's a human being. The media made Kobe Bryant who Kobe Bryant is. The media made him squeaky clean.

"Y'all say he's squeaky clean, but we say he's a human being."