USA basketball plans to select a core group of eight or nine players by mid-February to represent the United States at both next summer's qualifying tournament and the 2004 Olympics, but several NBA stars have already given verbal commitments.

Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd and Ray Allen have already contacted the federation to say they're willing to play.

		It's great to know that the NBA's top talent wants to go to Athens, Greece to compete in the 2004 Olympics. USA Basketball was embarrassed and humiliated on its own turf in Indianapolis during the recent World Basketball Championship. We suffered three losses, baby -- can you believe it? The roster was filled with NBA players, but the world has been catching up. But think about a lineup with the likes of Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, Ray Allen and Jason Kidd. More...

'We have reached out to Kobe (Bryant) but have yet to get a response from him,'' U.S. basketball selection committee chairman Stu Jackson said.

Sources told ESPN's David Aldridge on Tuesday that the selection committee also expects to receive commitments from Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett soon.

Sources also told Aldridge that Sixers coach Larry Brown will be the U.S. Olympic coach, pending approval from the U.S. Olympic Committee.

USA basketball plans to announce the first six players in mid-December, then add two or three more in early February.

If the United States wins one of the three Olympic berths at the qualifying tournament, the final two or three spots on the 2004 roster would be filled sometime during the 2003-04 NBA season.

The U.S. team will have to qualify for the Games next summer at a site to be determined. Toronto and San Juan, Puerto Rico, are the frontrunners to host the qualifying tournament, with Mexico City; Caracas, Venezuela; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil other possible candidates.

''Certainly both Kobe and (Shaquille O'Neal) are going to be candidates, certainly they are two of our very best, and we're hopeful both will participate if selected,'' Jackson said.

Brown has apparently been selected to coach the team over a group that also included Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan and Pat Riley.

As they did in 1999, the U.S. federation will fill the final three or four spots on the qualifying team roster with players who will not be guaranteed spots on the 2004 Olympic team.

In 1999, Elton Brand, Wally Szczerbiak and Richard Hamilton were on the qualifying team but did not play on the Olympic team.

The federation is hoping that O'Neal and Bryant show the same enthusiasm for playing that Duncan, McGrady, Kidd and Allen already have.

O'Neal has said he would only play if Phil Jackson is chosen as coach.

On Sunday, after hearing that Brown was reportedly the leading candidate, O'Neal said his knee will be hurting in 2004.

''The decision by a player whether to play is quite frankly a personal one,'' Stu Jackson said. ''We've heard from these other players who don't know who the coach is or the training schedule, and their view has been: 'Look, I want back in. I want to be there for the first time to help get the gold back,' and they did it without any criteria or contingency.''

The player and coach news was one of several topics that came up during a conference call with USA basketball president Tom Jernstedt and Jackson to discuss the U.S. federation's plans following the disappointing sixth-place finish at last summer's World Championships.

In another development announced Tuesday, the federation said the American players will stay at the athletes' village at the 2004 Games -- a departure from 1992, 1996 and 2000 when the team stayed at hotels.

''From a philosophical standpoint, we find it appropriate to stay in the village. Many athletes have suggested that doing so is a significant part of the Olympic experience,'' Jernstedt said Tuesday.

USA Basketball officials have already been in contact with International Olympic Committee officials regarding the accommodations the American players would have at the athletes' village, Jernstedt said.

Critics have chastised past U.S. teams for staying at fancy hotels and isolating themselves from the lower-profile athletes in Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney.

At the World Championship last summer, the U.S. team had its own hotel while the other 15 teams stayed at a different one.

''I felt it would have helped in Indianapolis if they had been around the other teams a little more to just understand the magnitude and spirit of the event. We're hoping the players will be encouraged,'' Jackson said.

USA Basketball also plans to have an extended training camp and to play several exhibitions before the 2004 Olympics.

Yugoslavia, the world champion, and Greece, the host country, are already slotted in two of the 12 spots in 2004. Additionally, there will be three teams from the Americas region, three additional teams from Europe, one each from Africa and Asia and two from the Oceania region.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.