INDIANAPOLIS -- The world has taken notice of the incredible rise of the European player in the NBA in the last few years, and rightly so. The best player in these World Championships is Dirk Nowitzki, and I don't think it's close. He is so smooth. He dropped 34 on the United States here on Friday and it was effortless.

	Germany's Dirk Nowitzki collected 34 points and 10 rebounds vs. the U.S.

"It's not impressive to me," said Nowtizki's Mavericks teammate Michael Finley. "I've seen him do it night in and night out."

You add to Dirk Diggler the likes of Peja Stojakovic, Tony Parker, Hedo Turkoglu, Andrei Kirilenko and Vlad Radmonovic -- along with this year's imports, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Bostjan Nachbar, Jiri Welsch and Marko Jaric -- and you have youth and serious firepower.

But these Worlds have showcased the serious, rapid improvement of another part of the globe -- Latin America and the Hispanic countries. Argentina and Brazil both got through the first round undefeated, and Puerto Rico easily qualified for next week's play. Only Venezuela failed to make the second round. Spain, which I know is not in Latin America, also went through the first week without a loss, led by its own Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, and despite the loss of guard Raul Lopez to another knee injury. And while their countries rightly believe national advancement takes precedence during this fortnight, I have more parochial interests.

More than a few of these guys are going to impact the L, and very soon.

Start with Argentina's Emanuel Ginobili, who'll be playing for the Spurs next season. I told a lot of you that I had heard this guy was pretty good, but I wanted to see him for myself before really giving a final judgment on his NBA chances.

Um, I've seen him. Wow. No wonder Gregg Popovich has been smiling all week.

He is 25, about 6-6, with handle and a scorer's flair for taking over a game at the exact moment it needs to be taken over. Ginobili is not Peja or Dirk, great players with sick range. But this guy can score with either hand, and he's more of a slasher than Jason. He could be this generation's Oscar Schmidt, the legendary Brazilian star who smoked the United States at the Pan Am Games in '87, and whose shooting conscience was surgically removed at birth. (In addition, Oscar had one of the great lines ever uttered: During the '92 Olympics, somebody asked him why he shot all the time, while his teammates were forced to set screens for him and never got the rock. Nonplussed, Oscar said, "Some people, they play the piano. And some people, they move the piano.")

"I know my game," Ginobili says. "I know I am totally different than (Stojakovic). And I know, too, I can play in the NBA. I don't know if I can succeed like him, playing in an all-star game. But I know I can make my way. It's going to take some time. But I'm calm. I'm not in any hurry to show anybody, everybody that I can play. I know I have a three-year contract. I have time."

Then there's his teammate, Fabricio Oberto, a 6-9 forward with smooth moves inside and a soft touch. When he was 19, he suffered a knee injury that scared some NBA folks, and when he got an invite to the Knicks' camp in 1999, he wasn't in shape after breaking his hand earlier that spring. He says that the Knicks told him they had to concentrate on their own draft picks during that preseason and that he wouldn't get any playing time, so soon afterward, Oberto went back overseas to play in Europe. A new, tough contract with his club team will make it hard for him to get out for two years, but the Spurs and Mavericks have both expressed interest in him when his deal expires.

"It's not like I left aside the NBA plans," Oberto said. "Now I am just focusing on Europe, trying to earn my name, trying to earn some titles. ... These last couple of years, I think I have improved my defense, my concentration on defense, trying to help my teammates. Maybe I lose a couple of offensive moves, because I expend so much energy on defense."

Yet another Argentine, forward Luis Scola, was taken in the second round by the Spurs. And you already know about Nene Hilario, Brazil's young forward who went to the Nuggets on draft night in the Antonio McDyess deal. He got better with each game in the Rocky Mountain Revue last month and Denver is giddy about his future. Brazil doesn't have the services of Hilario here -- he injured his groin earlier this summer -- but Brazil still made the second round behind Anderson Varejao, the 6-9 teenage forward who played in Barcelona this past year, and guard Marcelo Machado, who dropped a 28-footer at the buzzer to beat Turkey in the first round.

Spain's Gasol has only gotten taller and nastier since his Rookie of the Year effort in Memphis, and Lopez was John Stockton's heir apparent in Utah until rupturing his ACL for a second straight year while preparing for the Worlds. (Spain's other guard, Juan Carlos Navarro, was one of the Wizards' second-round picks in last June's draft.) Puerto Rico's best player may still be 38-year-old Jose Ortiz, but young center Daniel Santiago spent the last two years with the Phoenix Suns. And while Venezuela was unsuccessful in reaching the second round, it also has an NBA player on its roster in Oscar Torres, the surprise of the Rockets' camp last year.

"In our country, I think the fact that all of our players now play in Europe (has helped), and the European competition is better than the Latin American competition," says Argentine guard Pepe Sanchez, the former Temple point who played with the Sixers a couple of years ago and who will likely sign a guaranteed NBA contract this week. "And the fact that a couple of players have played in the NBA, that will bring that whole experience back. Ten years ago, we didn't know about the NBA. We barely knew about Europe."

The last time a Latin country won the gold medal in the Worlds was in 1963, when Brazil won the second of its back-to-back titles. The chances of South American or Spanish gold this time around are not great. But a silver or bronze are distinct possibilities. That would be sweet music to both the piano players and piano movers south of the equator.

"We never played with intensity before," Sanchez says. "Our basketball was just kind of up and down and happy-go-lucky. Now we've learned that you have to play intense. I think that's the difference between the NBA and the rest of the world. They play so intense, everybody coming in. And that makes the whole difference. The Latin Americans and the Europeans, I think, are better shooters than the Americans. But we don't have intensity like them right now."

Brand's grand plan
Elton Brand is already working on a major goal for next season.

"I'm gonna make him smile before the year is over," Brand says.

	Miller

	Brand

He is referring to his new, frequently expressionless teammate, Andre Miller, who is also his new, frequently expressionless teammate. They are U.S. basketball players for this fortnight, L.A. Clippers when these World Championships are over, and they are the future of that franchise.

They haven't played a lot with one another in this tournament, and even when they're on the floor together, the realities of being on a team full of stars make it impossible for the two to really develop chemistry. But Brand is filing away his daily practice battles with Antonio Davis, and Jermaine O'Neal and Ben Wallace for later use, and Miller is getting to stay in shape and work on his game. As two of the L's newer stars, neither hesitated for a moment when asked to give up some time over the summer.

"Dre and I, we didn't go to the playoffs," Brand said. "So a lot of guys went further in the playoffs, and that could be June, even. So they needed rest and they had other commitments. But for me, it was an honor and a privilege to have USA on my chest. If you're a serviceman, if you do whatever, with the tragic events of 9/11 you want to go represent your country. It's a big honor."

Even if they're not working on entry passes and back cuts here, Brand and Miller already know each other's games well. They both spent the early years of their careers toiling with putrid Eastern Conference squads, and there was an appreciation of the other's work.

"I really liked the way Dre would just see the floor, see cuts, deliver the ball before it's even there, how he could do it all, rebound, play D," Brand said, "shoot the ball when needed, and just hit big shots and just be a big-time player when he needed to be."

"I can say that I had the chance to play with a few good big players, and one thing I can say about Elton is that he's always gonna work hard," Miller says. "He's gonna run the floor, and I like playing with a big man that can run the floor and can finish, and he can also defend. He's versatile, and he's a relentless rebounder. So it helps me out to see that he can rebound, and it makes me want to give him the ball."

He will have that chance next season, having been dealt from Cleveland along with Bryant Stith for Darius Miles and Harold Jamison. Miller and Brand will have to be leaders in Los Angeles, which is a lot to ask from a 26-year-old (Miller) who's just getting to town -- well, actually, it's his hometown, but you know what I mean -- and a 23-year-old (Brand) who's only been around Tinseltown 12 months.

But if the Clippers are ever to escape their lot as the most dysfunctional team since B.A. Baracus and Co., it won't be because of the flash and panache of Q Richardson and Lamar Odom; it'll be with Brand grabbing boards and Miller pitching dimes. (And, to be fair, with center Michael Olowokandi continuing his development; some Clipper players thought the team was at its best last season when he, not Brand, was the focus of the offense.)

"I think we've learned each other to a certain extent," Miller said. "You know, we played together at the '98 Goodwills and it was very competitive, knowing that we (were) college players playing against some pro athletes. I know what I'm gonna get out of Elton in tough situations. I know I'm gonna get a relentless, hard worker and he knows what he's gonna get from me. So if we can go out there back to L.A. and show that we're competitors, then hopefully it'll filter out to the other players."

Miller is never going to be a talker. He has always preferred to let his play do the talking. That worked in less traveled places like the University of Utah and Cleveland. But one wonders if Silent Dre can work in the City of Angels, on a team with so many young and boisterous personalities.

"For me, being a point guard, it's a tough situation," Miller says. "It's new and you learn that you can't make everyone happy. So my goal is just to go in and not be as outspoken, but to lead by example. And go out and show everybody that I can work hard, so when it is time to speak up, then they'll say you know, we're gonna show him some respect."

There is another, larger mountain to climb. Yeah, the Clips had a nice buzz around them most of last season, and they were featured on "The Life," and they started to win big games on the road. But they still are in the larger-than-life shadow cast in L.A. by the Lakers, and until they start making the playoffs regularly, they'll never be more than kid brother to Shaq and Kobe. Brand and Miller have to figure out some way to be for their teams what the Diesel and Kobe are to theirs.

"The Lakers are always gonna be the measuring stick," Brand says. "Three-time defending world champions. And they're in the same city. So we obviously look to them and try to assume their model, try to get those rings, try to be as competitive as they are. You know, I don't know if we'll ever surpass them right now, with the nucleus they have right now, but as long as we keep edging and getting closer we'll be all right."

Brand and Miller also share another distinction: They are awaiting paydays both believe they've earned. Each is eligible for a six-year extension, but their former teams opted to move them rather than sign them. Now, they practice and play on a team with Baron Davis, who just got his $84 million from New Orleans, and Shawn Marion, who just got his $79 million from Phoenix, and Paul Pierce, who got his $79 million from Boston last year. They're both looking to see how management finalizes things with Olowokandi; so far, the summer has taken on that usual silent turn that previous negotiations with Clipper free agents have taken. (Olowokandi will return from a European trip on Monday to meet with his agent, Bill Duffy, to determine what his next step is.)

If neither gets an extension this summer, each would be a restricted free agent after next season, still eligible for an extension, but also able to sign one-year tenders and be unrestricted free agents after the 2003-04 season. Both are expressing patience, for now.

"You know, you've seen, of course, Shawn Marion, Baron Davis, very talented players, and they got the big payday," Brand says. "I can't worry about that. Dre can't worry about that right now. We have to play our situations, go out there, compete, play ball, have fun, get to the playoffs and go as far as we can. We can't be upset about 'Ah, this guy did it, and I'm not.' You can't even worry about it. Right now I'm worried about this USA team getting this gold medal."

Says Miller: "If you worry about it, you get stressed out. I'm not out here to worry about money. It's part of the business. But if we're healthy and we're working hard and we're patient, then everything is gonna take care of itself. ... It's a tough situation, but we're here to play basketball. One thing I can say about the Clipper organization, they're bringing in players that are competitive and players that are gonna work hard. So while we are there, we have to take advantage of the situation and play hard and try to get to that playoff level."

Does that sound as ominous to you as it does to me? "While we are there?"

Oh, well, life with the Clips is always about today, not the future. So, L.A., enjoy these two blue-collar guys next season.

"We can't really worry about the history and what happened in the past," Brand says. "We have to just go out there and play. Whatever happens is gonna happen. But as long as we're together we're gonna have to play with some cohesiveness and play together and just play well. Regardless of what happens at the end of the season, or whatever. We're gonna have to play well."

Blackman sighting
Rolando Blackman is here, working with the German team as an assistant coach. Mavs assistant Donnie Nelson's strong relationship with the Germans and Nowitzki's presence gave Blackman a chance to continue getting coaching experience as he's gotten as a Dallas assistant.

Nelson, of course, helped build Lithuania's program in the late '80s and early '90s, and American coaches abroad are certainly nothing new. Their teaching clinics have helped narrow the gap between the rest of the world and the United States. While U.S. college players are limited to 20 hours of practice a week, and two hours of practice a week during the offseason, international kids go twice a day, three hours a day, for 10 months.

The rest of the world is no longer intimidated.

"And I think that's good," U.S. Coach George Karl said. "The truth is, they're not intimidated anymore because they've copied us. They've come in and they've studied us and they've researched us, and now they may even coach it better than we coach it."

Loose ends
It cost the German Federation around $200,000 to buy enough insurance for Mark Cuban's liking and clear Nowitzki to play. ... Vlade Divac has had to learn the other side of the negotiating table as president of KK Partizan, his former club team in Yugoslavia. Sasha Danilovic, the Heat's former first-round pick, is Partizan's day-to-day operations man, but Divac has sit in on talks with Nenad Krstic, the forward who the Nets took late in the first round this year. Daniovic "is the main guy," Divac says. "I'm just helping out, because I don't really have the time. But it's fun. It's something new. I'm not going to play basketball forever, so I'm trying to prepare myself for something else. GM, who knows? But I'm playing right now."

David Aldridge is an NBA reporter for ESPN.