"But that doesn't mean a thing. You were involved late at night, speeding, with marijuana in your car. And that's not acceptable for anybody, let alone a guy who's a public figure and is so visible and represents so many people."

Virginia state police said they stopped Iverson's car for speeding earlySunday morning near Richmond. According to a police report, one marijuana cigarette and a small quantity of additional marijuana were also found in Iverson's Mercedes-Benz, in which he was a passenger. Brown, who has yet to speak with Iverson since he was hired in April, said the arrest is "not something any of us can be very proud of."

The marijuana charge, a misdemeanor, is punishable up to a year in jail and $2,500 fine. The gun charge will be dropped, according to Virginia statepolice, based on the small amount of marijuana found in the car.

According to the police report, Iverson told the trooper who stopped his 1996 Mercedes-Benz on Interstate 64 West about 20 miles from Richmond at 1:27 a.m. Sunday that a marijuana cigarette in the car was his and that the gun was his. Iverson previously has acknowledged carrying a gun for his personal defense.

The driver, Maduro Earl Hill, 32, of Hampton, Va., was charged with reckless driving and was released after receiving a summons. According to sources close to Iverson, Hill is in the recording business and they were on their way to a recording session, after attending a social event. Another passenger, Damon Stewart, 25, also of Hampton, was charged with possession of marijuana and released on $1,000 bail. Hill reportedly is a friend ofIverson's from high school days. Iverson's court appearance is set for next Tuesday. Iverson's lawyer, Tom Shuttleworth, reached in his Norfolk office, said Iverson will release astatement this morning.

In New York, Chris Brienza, a spokesman for the National Basketball Association, said Iverson "hasn't had due process yet. To comment before that would be premature and unfair."Iverson was in seclusion yesterday, according to the 76ers, but according to the team's vice president of basketball operations, Billy King, Iverson talked with him by telephone yesterday afternoon. King said in a 10-minute teleconference with reporters that Iverson is "upset with what's going on."King declined to elaborate. Team owner Pat Croce and Brown both indicated that Iverson told King that he was not smoking marijuana. But Croce criticized Iverson for poor judgment. "Even if it's not his pot, he's in a car where there is pot and he's implicated," he said. "Birds of a feather flock together."

Marijuana is not one of the substances covered in the NBA's collectivebargaining agreement with its players, according to Brienza. But every NBA contract contains clauses prohibiting conduct that is detrimental to the league, and either the NBA or the 76ers could theoretically discipline Iverson under those provisions.

Iverson was the NBA's No. 1 draft pick in 1996 and went on to become rookie of the year with the 76ers, averaging 23.5 points per game, sixth in the league. Iverson has a multiyear, multimillion dollar endorsement contract with sports equipment and apparel manufacturer Reebok. Company spokesman Dave Fogelson said they have sent Henry Que Gaskins, their liaison with Iverson, from Philadelphia to Virginia to be with the player. Gaskins, a graduate of the J.L. Kellog Graduate School Of Management at Northwestern University and from Anacostia, said in an interview with The Post in February that he tries to figure out ways to sell his young star and also tends to things such as coaching Iverson on how to talk to the media and be prompt for appointments. Some NBA agents and players have called Gaskins a babysitter and Gaskins said "there's some of that" in his work with Iverson.

Both the 76ers' Croce and Brown stressed yesterday that, in exchange for receiving millions of dollars in salary and endorsements, NBA players accept the responsibility of being role models. "He's got to be more concerned about who he hangs around with," Brown said. "For all the things you're given for being a pro athlete, you have to start giving back. The first thing would be to conduct yourself like an adult."Some of Iverson's friends about five or six young men who have accompanied him from Tidewater, Va., to Philadelphia have previously been a source of concern to IversonÕs mother, Ann, and to 76ers officials. In February, Ann Iverson said some of Iverson's friends had taken advantage of him, one charging an expensive watch to her son's credit card and others moving into his three-bedroom Philadelphia condo. Eventually, Ann Iverson went to Philadelphia,asked Allen's friends to leave and installed her brother,Gregory, a former Marine, in the condominium.

Croce had a run-in with Iverson's friends last year when four young men were sitting in a car waiting for Iverson after practice. One of them made aremark to Croce. "I said, You get in any trouble and it reflects on Allen and me, I'm going to burn your house down," Croce told The Post earlier this year.Last September, two of Iverson's friends were in Iverson's car when shots were fired at the car, according to a Hampton police report.

A .45-caliber handgun was found by Hampton University police on the seat of Iverson's car. Iverson was not in the car at the time and no one was injured