Invasion in Indy

INDIANAPOLIS -- Downtown Indianapolis, the middle of America, is getting an international flavor for the next 10 days.\nThe Circle City has been taken over by 16 different countries to battle each other on the basketball court.\nThe World Basketball Championships, a four-year event running opposite the Olympics, have landed in America for the first time.\nStarting today, the teams will compete in an elimination-style set-up leading up to the Sept. 8 final game.\nThe U.S. team expects to be there. But first, they have to get past eight teams, starting tonight in a televised game against Algeria.\n"Yeah we do have some teams out there and first of all we're going to respect those teams and every team we play against," said U.S. team member and Toronto Raptor Antonio Davis. "We're not really worried about who we're playing, we're worrying about getting better each and every day and that's the sign of a good (team) so we'll just have to wait and see what happens."\nNot that Team USA's exhibition games have given them anything to worry about. Prior to arriving in Indianapolis, the U.S. team spent nine days out west training for the Worlds. The first exhibition game was last Thursday against Houston Rockets draftee Yao Ming and his China team. The U.S. routed China in the 84-54 victory. Against Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki and the German team in the second exhibition game, U.S. won 91-73.\nBut while the U.S. remains the favorite, the NBA player-filled team has spent the weeks leading up the Worlds adjusting to the International Basketball rules that the tournament follows, while also adjusting to each other.\n"We're still trying to find where guys are going to be at," U.S. team member and Indiana Pacer Jermaine O'Neal said. "It's still a little different. We're bringing some of the NBA rules and some of the NBA mentality into the game. We've struggled a little bit over the last two games and haven't broken 100 yet and that's kind of surprising with the guys we have on this team. But overall I'm not worried about it, I think we can really put it together and put it together fast."\nThe U.S. team is composed of 13 NBA players, including Pacers O'Neal and Reggie Miller. Miller was sidelined with an ankle injury at the team's practice last Thursday, and his playing status has not been determined.\nBut the U.S. team is not the only competitor to have NBA players. Along with Germany and China, seven other teams have NBA players on their roster. Yugoslavia boasts the most players of all the international teams with five, including Sacramento's Vlade Divac and Predrag Stojakovic.\nTeam USA coach George Karl said the gap is closing between countries.\n"You have the best players in the world," Karl said. "You have five or six teams that think they can win it. I still think we're the best. We have nine games in 11 nights and that's a mental challenge. International basketball has been getting closer and closer to NBA basketball for the past 10 years."\nOverall, the U.S. team has a record of 91-23 in the Worlds, an event put on by the International Basketball Federation,and has won three gold medals, three silver medals and three bronze medals. The last time Team USA won the gold in this event was in 1994, when the Worlds were held in Toronto. \nOrganizers of the event expect around 175,000 fans to attend the 52-year old event, many from different countries. Tickets for the event range from $10 to $190 dollars, depending on which session of play is attended. \nAnd if the U.S. team has it's way, they'll be watched in every session during this tournament. But it's not only about the gold medal for the team. They are focused on representing the U.S.\n"It means a lot to me," O'Neal said. "Especially now, things have been so tough, been so hectic. Coming up on the Sept. 11 anniversary to put that USA across my chest means a helluva lot more than putting Pacers across my chest.\n"But don't get me wrong I still got love for the Pacers"