Washington Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan said he hasn't paid too much attention to the United States' unblemished eight-game run through the Tournament of the Americas Olympic qualifier heading into Saturday's semifinal against Puerto Rico.

He has been too busy finding a place to live and putting together a plan to mesh a young, talented and interesting mix of players when training camp starts Sept. 29. Jordan does know that New Jersey Nets stars Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson are on this star-filled team and the fact he spent the past few years helping mold then into high-caliber players -- and winners -- has touched him a bit.

"To see Kenyon, Richard and Jason, I'm so happy for them," Jordan said in a phone interview. "I'm happy to have been a part in their careers and some of their success."

The feeling is mutual.

"Eddie is great," said Kidd, who was close to Jordan and said he was sad to see him leave. "He deserved a head coaching job. He was great with us in New Jersey. The big thing with him is that he works very hard. He'll get that team going."

The Nets' trio benefited greatly from the hawkish defensive schemes and ball-movement-based offense Jordan helped implement with head coach Byron Scott.

How Wizards scorers Gilbert Arenas and Jerry Stackhouse and big men Brendan Haywood, Kwame Brown and Jared Jeffries adhere to that system -- and not vice versa -- will dictate the Wizards' fortunes, Kidd and Jefferson said.