Gratsy is a patient at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, less than a month removed from a heart transplant, and he knows there are more important matters to discuss with his idol.

"The crossover -- ain't nobody can stop it," he said of Iverson's trademark hesitation dribble that usually leaves opponents looking foolish.

With little prompting, Gratsy reconsiders: "Oh yeah, I know how to stop it."

The doctors, nurses and Iverson roll their eyes and laugh as Gratsy of Willow Grove volunteers his defensive strategy.

"All you have to do is play back on it and wait on it, instead of coming up on him," the boy offered.

"That's when I'm going to hit you with the jumpshot," replied Iverson, the Philadelphia 76ers' guard and last year's NBA Rookie of the Year.

"Well," said Gratsy, ever quick with a reply, "there's a 50-50 chance you're going to hit the jumper. As long as you know you ain't getting caught with your underwear on the court, you're all right."

Iverson and 76ers rookie Anthony Parker, along with team president Pat Croce, were among the players and team officials participating in TeamUp Day, the leaguewide day of community service that involved an estimated 165 players and coaches on Wednesday.

Gratsy finally met Iverson after two phone conversations. Iverson, with camera crews in tow, said his previous talks with the boy were among the bright spots in an offseason marred by his arrest in Virginia.

Iverson was a passenger in a car stopped for speeding by state police Aug. 3. He was charged after a small amount of marijuana and a gun were found in the car.

The drug charge was dropped, and Iverson pleaded no contest to carrying a concealed weapon. He was placed on three years' probation and must do community service.

Around the time of his arrest, the 76ers asked him to call Gratsy, who was waiting for a suitable donor heart at the hospital, where Croce is on the board.

Cardiac myopathy had so weakened the boy that his doctors felt they were running out of time.

"We were very fortunate to get a heart when we did," said Dr. Deborah Davis, a member of the team that did the transplant Oct. 4. "His risk of sudden death was increasing every month. About 25 percent of the patients die waiting."

Iverson said his first conversation with Gatsy helped him put his problems in perspective.

"As strong as he was, being in the situation that he was, then I look at the situation that I was in, it made it that much easier to overcome and learn from," he said. "It just let me know that things that were going on in my life that I thought were tough are not really that tough."

Croce thinks his 22-year-old guard is beginning to understand the responsibilities that come with adulthood.

"His maturity has been on the basketball court," Croce said. "What he's learning now is the maturity of life, what it means to affect other people."