Dwyabe Wade, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony made a joint plan to return the United States to its perch atop the sport after the U.S. national team left Athens with a bronze medal in 2004.

The chance arrived Wednesday, when the wholly revamped American team opened two weeks of training in Las Vegas leading to an Asian tour and the world championships in Japan next month.

New coach Mike Krzyzewski and the U.S. brass are going to extensive lengths to change the culture and atmosphere of a program that withered and soured. But this summer also signals a generational shift for the Americans, with Wade, James and Anthony sounding eager to assert themselves as stars of the international game.

"We're three guys that kind of understand this game a little better, and we can help these young guys understand what this game is all about," Wade said.

Just five members of the Athens bronze-medal team were invited to this camp: Along with the talented trio, Phoenix Suns forwards Amare Stoudemire and Marion are back.

Krzyzewski knows the program's future rests with players under 25 who still can add skills for the demands of the international game.

"My feeling is, you don't think about the past," Krzyzewski said. "We have a responsibility right here. Past is past, and those guys were under different pressures, too. There were a lot of security pressures behind the scenes that maybe lent itself to distractions that we don't know about. Personally, I want to thank all of those guys for just doing it."

The trio participated in the same scrimmage during the team's opening practice, getting defensive instruction from assistant coach Nate McMillan. Wade and James bounced up against each other during a drill, causing laughs ¡ª but they quickly got serious in the final minutes of practice, soaking up strategy and teamwork.

Editor: Donald