[Only three NBA stars ( Tim Duncan , Allen Iverson and Richard Jefferson ) return from last year's qualifying team. As a result, the U.S. will go to Athens with its youngest squad ever (average age 23.6 years) and one that, judging from its struggles during the exhibition season, is hardly a lock for the gold medal.] This is going to be a huge challenge because we do have young players, ... They're going to look around and realize that these [international] teams are well-coached, they play an appealing style, they truly are teams and their skill level is extremely high. So, [we] better understand that right from the beginning. Larry Brown