COLOGNE, GERMANY ? Larry Brown wants to move on.

The U.S. Olympic basketball coach said Sunday that the suspension of Allen Iverson, LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire is forgotten. He would rather focus on a tough road trip against some of Europe’s top teams leading up the Athens Olympics.

Brown refused to let Iverson, James and Stoudemire play in the team’s 86-71 win over Puerto Rico on Saturday, punishment for the trio showing up late for a team meeting.

“It won’t happen again. They’ll play the next game, and some will start,” Brown said.

The U.S. squad arrived in Germany on Sunday, shook off the jet lag and held its first practice.

And Brown is having some second thoughts about whether this series of exhibitions, which includes a game against world champion Serbia and Montenegro, is ideal for his team.

That’s a switch from last year, when he was eager for the trip after the U.S. team romped through Olympic qualifying in Puerto Rico with a 10-0 record. Since then, however, veterans from that team, including Mike Bibby, Tracy McGrady and Ray Allen, have bailed out.

Now, Brown is drilling the youngest U.S. Olympic team, with an average age of 23.6 years, since NBA players first were allowed into the 1992 Games.

James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony may be talented, but they are newcomers to basketball abroad. The team played together just one week, and many players will need a crash course in the different rules of the international game.

Brown thought the team had put all that behind them in Puerto Rico.

“We thought that team would be playing. We thought we had laid the foundation,” Brown said. “Now I think maybe we can use the practice.”

The U.S. team faces Italy on Tuesday, followed by Germany and Dirk Nowitzki on Wednesday. Then it plays two more away games against Serbia and Montenegro and Turkey, whose NBA players include Utah’s Mehmet Okur.

“I hope this trip will competitively toughen us up,” Brown said.

Sunday’s practice, during which Brown worked on some plays, was a closed session in a sweltering small gym. Only a handful of reporters were let in to watch a late shootaround and talk to the players.

That will be different against Italy and Germany. The NBA stars, often still called “The Dream Team” abroad, have awakened huge interest.

While the U.S. squad has three short weeks to forge a cohesive team, other world powers like Argentina and Serbia and Montenegro have players who have been on the court together for years.

Not that the Americans and their young stars are worried.

Anthony already boldly has predicted a gold medal, while James said he wasn’t concerned about upholding the American’s 24-0 mark since NBA players were allowed in the Olympics.

“There’s no pressure at all,” James said. “If we get better and do our job, we have a great chance of accomplishing our goals.”