Big freakin' deal! Somebody tell Iverson that you have to play within a team concept internationally, not be isolated one-on-one and take 40 shots from the field every game. You also have to show up and practice with your team daily. That's too big of an expectation for him.

No great shakes. But Iverson was the best player on the 2004 team. As a Sixers fan, only Wilt and Dr. J are ahead of AI as greatest Sixer ever. In his 10 years with Philly, he has literally been a one-man gang and got the team to the finals. But it looks like the 76ers want to part company with AI. Of course, they will get very little for him in trade and will be a lottery team for years to come when they pull the trigger.

Prior to the past Olympics I'd have considered this to be a non-issue. Iverson is a baskeball player in his 30's who has a shoot-first mentality and has never brought home a professional or collegiate championship. On the "intangibles" side (from my perspective, which I will freely admit does not include universally held sentiments) he has too many tattoos, a hip-hop street garbage persona, got a free pass to a college for which he simply did not academically measure up, and at least at times, has not held "practice" in the highest regard. Therefore, I would have formerly thought him to be a logical exclusion. However, I got a different impression of the little criminal based upon his performance, on and off the court, in Athens. Make no mistake, our basketball team was overmatched for top-level international play during the last Olympics. In addition, U.S. players were going into the hostile anti-American environments of arenas filled with Iraq War opposing ungrateful Euro-trash. Our squad took a number of jubilantly celebrated, very public beatings at the hands of the more cohesive entries from other nations and, quite frankly, the American team was not the favorite of the officials. And with all of this going on, and with Stephon Marbury and Carmelo Anthony being petulant at times, Iverson just left it on the floor. He fulfilled his (unaccustomed) role as distributor of the ball and, as he always does, showed little concern for his own physical well-being. And when surrounded by international reporters who tasted the blood in their mouths of a wobbling hoops squad from the previously unbeatable United States, he did nothing other than speak about what an honor it was to represent his country and how proud he was to have the opportunity to wear "USA" across his chest. He made no excuses and showed no let-up after discouraging defeats. No one was more taken aback by this display of character than me. I really hadn't thought Iverson had much substance inside him. I was wrong. I see the direction that USA basketball is going in and feel they've selected a good couple dozen candidates to handle future international competition. It would not be the end of the world, however, if they gave AI the same "standing invitation" that apparently has been extended to the center for the Miami Heat. There is something to be said for having a guy on the floor and at practice who plays hard and plays hurt ... and who doesn't make excuses when things don't work out the way he would've liked.

Probably not a huge story in the scheme of things, but an interesting the story nonetheless. AI is a guy who represented the USA better than anyone else in 2004. He played hard and well, and throughout the competition he was the picture of class - while everyone else was complaining about the roster, the officiating, the environment and making excuses, AI was just gushing about how proud he was to be representing his country. He's also having one of the best seasons. 2nd in the league in scoring, near the top of the league in assists, and shooting one of the highest percentages of his career. But it would appear that USA basketball has decided to go in another direction. As opposed to invitations by committee and assembling a roster of the highest scorers in the league, they've enlisted one guy, Jerry Colangelo, to make the roster invitations, and have attempted to create more of a team than a hodge podge of all-stars. Hence the invitation to players like Shane Battier and Bruce Bowen to try out. I like this approach, and I understand why Iverson was left of this team. His defense is a liability, and he's a shoot first player. But something doesn't feel right about him not getting invitation, after the effort and class he displayed in '04. AI's reaction to the snub? "This means I get to spend more time with my family." And oh yeah, he dropped 40 and 10 on the Rockets, leading his team to victory in the first game after learning the news. The rest of the NBA could take a lesson on class from Allen Iverson.