by Fred Seely
Editorial Director
Jacksonville is a good place to visit but live here?
“Ask my kids after they’ve been on the beach,” said Allen Iverson. “Suits me. But the kids aren’t here yet, so I can’t say.”
Iverson and 11 of the nation’s other most prominent basketball players are here for the only United States practice sessions before heading to Europe and the Aug. 15-28 Olympic Games. They’re practicing at the University of North Florida Arena and staying at the Ponte Vedra Inn.
They’ll work out through Friday, and then play a game against Puerto Rico on Saturday at the arena before flying across the Atlantic.
“It’s all worked out well,” said the team’s coach, Larry Brown of the NBA champion Detroit Pistons. “We needed a good place to stay, a good place to practice and the security that is required of an operation like this.
“It’s been impressive. They were ready for us. No one has been a problem, and there have been no problems.”
The players have stayed around the hotel for the most part and the normal gaggle of summer visitors have a bonus of being able to visit with the players. Autographs have been freely given.
“No one has bothered us,” said Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz. “It’s a very secure feeling. We came here to practice and get ready. We don’t want distractions and we haven’t had any.”
The UNF practices produce an odd feeling. Here are 12 multi-millionaire players, four of the nation’s most highly regarded coaches and a cadre of skilled trainers, all working in an almost-deserted gym. No fans are allowed and the media is kept out until the last half-hour except the odd one who goes through the wrong door and manages to stay undetected.
Brown and his staff, which include the head coaches from the San Antonio professional team and the North Carolina and Clemson college teams, work their stars as if they were an unskilled set of junior college players.
“We’re playing for our country,” said LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers. “We have work to do. We were chosen because they thought we would do a good job for our nation, and paying attention to coaches is part of that.”
Iverson, one of the game’s most colorful characters and the star of the Philadelphia 76ers, said the same: “We’re here to work. There’s time to play in the afternoon but you won’t see any of us screwing around in practice.”
The North Carolina coach, Roy Williams, said his only distraction was to chase down a Tommy Bahama outlet store.
“They make the best practice shorts,” he said. But, alas, the national chain hasn’t made it this far.
“This is a wonderful atmosphere,” he said. “The gym is just what we need. It’s a good facility and it’s not too big.
“We’ve all been pleased with the way things have been handled. From the police to the hotel people, we’ve been treated properly.”