By Dan Lopriore 

ALLEN IVERSON IS PETER PAN WITH A JUMP SHOT. He's a hip-hop high flyer in baggy shorts. 

Allen Iverson's dream is to win a championship.

As mischievous and adventurous as the storybook hero, Iverson is loved by young fans for his youthful and boundless joy on the basketball court. 

And he is envied by adults, who marvel at a prodigious mastery of his Never Never Land - the NBA. 

Like Pan, Iverson's shadow also has trouble sticking close. It chases its elusive owner through a blur of crossover dribbles, flashes to the basket and defensive pursuits. 

Both Pan and Iverson have supreme hops. But Iverson's leaping abilities are real, and Pan's were the imaginary flights of a writer's fantasy. 

Allen Iverson begins his second season of NBA basketball - the reigning Rookie of the Year - and comes ready to forge a decade of All-Star performances while he helps lead a young and still unformed team to a coveted world championship. 

But when you ask Iverson about his personal hopes and dreams, he again reminds us of that breakaway legend of literature, whose greatest allure was a youthful and unquenchable desire to enjoy every moment of his talent. 

"I love playing basketball," Iverson said. "It's when I have the best focus. I've worked hard to be the best I could be. Even when I was a kid, basketball was always fun, but always a serious thing for me. When other guys wanted to mess around, I was looking to get better and to find good competition to play against." 

Iverson has found the best and most serious competition in the world. His first NBA season (1996-97) was among the finest first seasons a rookie guard has ever had. He averaged 23.5 points, more than 7 assists and 4.1 steals per game. He set an NBA rookie record with five consecutive 40-point games. 

He was named Most Valuable Player of the Schick Rookie All-Star Game and broke the 76ers' rookie scoring record with 1,787 points. At 21 years, 310 days old, he became the youngest player to score 50 points when he accomplished the feat against the Cleveland Cavaliers last April 12. 

But points aren't the point with Iverson. 

"I would rather win than score a lot of points," he said. "I believe God gave me my talent and gifts. I've just taken advantage of it and made myself better. No matter how tough it is, you have to do the work harder to be the best and I'm willing to work." 

Iverson also finds the mutual admiration between himself and young fans to be a gift. 

"It's real important to me that kids like me," said Iverson, whose 6-foot scale model poster hangs on many walls and many closed doors. "I think they see that I enjoy basketball and that I was once just like them. I remember being a little kid and watching the great players. I hope they enjoy watching me. When I play, I feel just like I did when I was a kid in the park. I feel the energy of the game." 

Iverson said his basketball energy is what kept him going while growing up in Hampton, VA and fighting to survive without much money in an environment that offered few options for the future. 

"It can be very tough for kids growing up no matter where they live," he said. "It was hard for me. Playing basketball and trying to get my schoolwork done kept me going. I always tell kids they have to do well in school to get to play ball. It's not an excuse to be poor. You have to try harder, that's all." 

Making it through some difficult personal problems to Georgetown University didn't ensure success either. But coming into his NBA dream has given Iverson a very real appreciation for his friends and family. 

"I like to spend time with family and friends," he said. "There's some things that change as you grow and get some success. You have to be more responsible for what you do and people put pressures on you. But some things don't change. My family and friends are still the most important things to me, and they motivate me." 

Like any artist or skilled worker, Iverson's career demands excellence. But, unlike most, his workplace is in full view of thousands of people. The basketball court has become Iverson's canvas, classroom and playground. He finds that it offers a place of work, expression and growth, while it remains an outlet for his youthful energy. 

He said he thinks of nothing else except the game when he's out on the floor. 

"Basketball has always been an escape from the world for me, so it's funny that it happens in front of crowds of people," he said. "I get lost in the game and I am totally focused when I play. I don't think of anything else out there. Everything I've ever practiced or learned has become instinctive. All I do is try to give my best to my team." 

Iverson's speed is his greatest weapon on the floor. He is reminiscent of the Boston Celtics' Bob Cousy, another urban schoolyard product who brought the behind-the-back pass and deft ballhandling to the NBA in the 1950s. And Iverson's small-guard stature is also similar to Bronx product Nate "Tiny" Archibald, a forerunner of today's do-it-all guards. Archibald is the only player to ever lead the NBA in scoring (34) and assists (11.4) in the same season. 

But with point guards growing into 6-9 Magic Johnson types during the 1980s, then into 1990s star guards like 6-7 Anfernee Hardaway, Iverson is a diminutive hero for those who are just normal size and revel in the fact that he competes with the giants of the pro game. 

"I think I show that you can be smaller and still have an impact on the game," he said. "I'm a little quicker, but I also want to be a good all-around player. Quick is good, but you have to know when to pass and when to take the shot." 

Iverson learned early that excellence comes with work and is sometimes a lonely devotion. He advises every young player, whatever the sport is, to spend equal amounts of time playing with others as well as alone. 

"You have to always be competing against the best you can find," he said. "But there's also the times you have to go out and shoot 100 jumpers alone, and when you're not doing anything else, have that ball in your hands working on your skills." 

Iverson also understands the difference between free-lance Peter Pan basketball and the structured and demanding NBA game. He has learned and is still learning how to blend the spirit of his game with the minds and flow of his teammates and coaches, which is a crucial necessity for a point guard. 

"I'm not going to change who I am and what gifts I have, but I can use all of that in the game plan," he said. "Coach Brown is a good teacher and the other players also help me learn. I want to use all my ability in a team game. I want to win championships." 

But Peter Pan never liked discipline and would never give up his freedom. 

"I have a lot of freedom out there just playing the game," Iverson said. "But it's not a one-man game. I get just as happy passing the ball as shooting the ball. I can do all those things." 

Iverson's allure is as magical as Peter Pan's and his philosophy might be just as simple. 

Think good thoughts and you can fly. 

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