Team USA's Joe Johnson slices through the Puerto Rico defense for a shot attempt Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center. Photo by K.M. Cannon. LeBron James of Team USA dunks over Puerto Rico's Carlos Arroyo in the third quarter of the teams' exhibition at the Thomas & Mack Center. James scored 10 points in Team USA's 114-69 victory. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

Distractions? What distractions?

USA Basketball's decision to hold training camp in Las Vegas to prepare for this month's world championships turned out to be better than expected, according to those who made the choice.

From the hotel accommodations to the training facilities to the sellout crowd of 18,218 at Thomas & Mack Center on Thursday to watch the Americans rout Puerto Rico 114-69 in an exhibition, Las Vegas got thumbs-up all the way around.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 10-plus," said Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball managing director and the man who ultimately steered the team's training camp to Las Vegas and UNLV. "It was great. Everything exceeded expectations. Coming to Las Vegas couldn't have been any better.

"What it does for me is reinforce the fact that we made the right decision. It was a great place for our players' families, friends and our sponsors to gather."

Coach Mike Krzyzewski echoed Colangelo's praise.

"This was a great choice," Krzyzewski said. "Las Vegas was great for us. There was something here that helped us create a national spirit."

Krzyzewski said he never worried about the casinos and nightclubs causing his players to stray from the task at hand.

"These are professionals," he said. "They handled themselves as we expected them to."

Las Vegas Events negotiated with USA Basketball to bring the team to town. The first phase of camp was July 19 to 25 at Cox Pavilion and the second phase ran this week, culminating with Thursday's exhibition game. Las Vegas Events' contract with USA Basketball runs for two more years, and LVE president Pat Christenson is enthusiastic about the future.

"I never had a doubt it would be a good thing," he said. "We had everything in place for them, and I think it demonstrates that when you have an event like this in this market, you can create something very special."

The team was headquartered at Wynn Las Vegas, a resort that's accustomed to catering to celebrities. Miami Heat star guard Dwyane Wade raved about the accommodations, saying he can't wait to get back next summer.

"Our stay here was great," he said. "I wish we could take the Wynn hotel on the road with us.

"It was great seeing people coming up to us and asking how we were doing and wishing us well. They made us feel very special."

Even Kobe Bryant, who didn't play, said Las Vegas was the right choice.

"It's cool," said Bryant, who was unable to play after undergoing knee surgery last month. "It's a nice spot, especially if you're into gambling.

"I'm a poker guy myself. But I play for fun. I'm not a card shark. I can bluff a pair of deuces, but that's about it."

The support Las Vegas gave the team was no bluff, however. Although Thursday's game did not sell out in advance, early sales were strong and Christenson was pleased with the turnout. Las Vegas Events paid USA Basketball $750,000 to come to Las Vegas and needed about 7,000 to attend the game in order to break even.

"It was a pleasant surprise to see the game sell out," Christenson said. "We tried to make it affordable for the locals (tickets were priced from $12 to $75) and I thought the community got behind it.

"The fact is a lot of people got to touch it and get close to it. That will make it easier to promote the next two years."

Team USA will play exhibitions next summer and again in 2008 as it prepares for the Beijing Olympics. Next year's Las Vegas opponent has yet to be determined; much will depend on what happens at the world championships in Japan. The Americans open the tournament Aug. 19 against Puerto Rico in Sapporo. The gold medal game is Sept. 3.

Should the Americans win the gold medal, they will receive an automatic berth in the Olympics. Anything less than gold means they must go to Venezuela next summer to qualify for Beijing.

"I hope we're not coming here to train next year but to bond," Krzyzewski said. "Nothing against Venezuela. I'd love to visit there, but with my family."