Allen Iverson, the master of the cross over and 2001 NBA MVP, wants to help. One of the most electrifying players in the world wants to be a part of a winner for the United States. Now he has that chance as a member of USA Basketball’s 2003 Senior National Team and one of nine ‘core’ players guaranteed a spot on the 2004 Olympic Team basketball roster. But first the team must qualify, after a dismal performance at the 2002 World Championships at the Olympic Qualifier, the 2003 FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which gets underway in Puerto Rico Aug. 20-31.

Q1: What does it mean for you to be on this team?

ALLEN IVERSON: I'm proud to represent the United States and I'll do whatever it takes for us to win the gold medal, that's all that I care about. I just want to be part of a winner.

Q2: Did you see any of last year's World Championship and how familiar are you with international basketball?

ALLEN IVERSON: I watched it and I played in the World University Games when we won it when I was in college (1995). So I’m familiar with it. I’ve been around it and I’ve watched it, and I've always wanted to be part of it. I’m just happy that I have the opportunity to do so.

Q3: How did you feel watching the USA play last summer?

ALLEN IVERSON: I felt embarrassed, I felt bad. I wanted to be a part of it, I wanted to help, I wanted to contribute and I wasn’t able to. God works in mysterious ways. I went through that and now I get a chance to be a part of it. I get a chance to have my own impact on it … I think that experience is going to make us hungrier and it's going to make us more aware of what's going in other countries and how much they've improved and how much they want to beat us. It's important for us to leave all of our egos at the door and come in here and achieve a common goal.

Q4: How is the process of blending everybody together on this team?

ALLEN IVERSON: "I think that as the days go by, we get better chemistry-wise. We haven't been playing with each other a lot, but the little bit of time that we've had so far. I think we've progressed a lot and I think we're going to get better from game to game and from practice to practice. And that's the most important thing, as long as we get better."

Q5: What do you think your role is with this team?

ALLEN IVERSON: I honestly think my role is easy with this team because I don't have to do as much as I did in the past. It's a totally different team from the Philadelphia 76ers. This team, it's much easier for me because I don't have to exert myself so much. Now, I'm just concentrating on defense more than anything.

Q6: Was there a point where you were worried you wouldn't be selected to participate with this team?

ALLEN IVERSON: Honestly, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, I wanted to play on the team, but I didn't let it bother me. All I was really concentrating on was the 76ers. I would love to win a gold medal. Hopefully, I'll get that chance.

Q7: What is it you want people to know most about you?

ALLEN IVERSON: I just want people to know that Allen Iverson is misunderstood. Allen Iverson tries to be the best father, tries to be the best husband, tries to be the best brother, best cousin, best friend, best teammate. That's it. I just want the people that care anything about me to know that I'm a good person. The people that don't care anything about me, I don't care what they think. I can't satisfy everyone, so I try to concentrate on the ones that care about me.

Q8: Are basketball fans part of that equation?

ALLEN IVERSON: Yeah, they are. Caring about somebody is different than being a fan. I'm a fan of Samuel Jackson, and I actually care about it him, how things go in his life. I grew up a Michael Jordan fan. I cared about what happened to him, I cared about his well-being. It was more. My fans should stick with me through thick and thin.

Q9: How about the team's performance in the exhibition with Puerto Rico?

ALLEN IVERSON: I think we have to work on every aspect of our game. On both ends of the court, our chemistry has to get better offensively obviously. We need to communicate a lot better defensively. I think the first half we gave up 48 points and that was too much, so we had a goal to keep them under 35 points in the second half and we were able to hold them to 26. So I think that we did a good job in the second half, but we have to start the game the same way.

Q10: What’s it like playing with these guys?

ALLEN IVERSON: It is easy to play with these guys. The flow is so wide open that a lot of times, I had a lot of opportunities to do things one-on-one. I saw a lot of gaps in there, but it just makes it easier when you take your time and try to get a better shot. It was just a wide-open game. When you have so many guys on the court that can do so many things you have to respect them and it makes it so much easier for me.