| | Vince Carter's dream of making the Dream Team will have to wait
four more years.
Carter lost out to Ray Allen of the Milwaukee Bucks on a 6-3 vote Tuesday as the nine-man USA Basketball selection committee selected the final three players for the 12-man roster.
Grant Hill and Alonzo Mourning got the other spots.
| |  | | Mourning |
| |  | | Hill |
| |  | | Allen |
There was no official announcement, but several NBA sources,
speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the results to The
Associated Press. Hill, Mourning and Allen all have expressed
interest in playing for the U.S. team, so there should be no
impediment to finalizing their selections in the next few days.
Carter, the 22-year-old Toronto forward leading all players in
All-Star balloting, said recently that it was his dream to play for
the U.S. team in the Olympics next summer in Australia.
But the selection committee, seeking someone who would accept a
12th-man mentality, went instead with Allen, the better shooter and
the more veteran player.
"Vince is nobody's 12th man," Raptors coach Butch Carter said.
"Evidently he hasn't shown enough separation between himself and
the rest of the talent pool."
Carter had no immediate comment.
The U.S. team also includes Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Gary
Payton, Steve Smith, Allan Houston, Tim Hardaway, Vin Baker, Tom
Gugliotta and Tim Duncan.
The choice of Hill came as no surprise, as he was originally
chosen for the team two years ago only to withdraw because the
Olympic qualifying tournament, held last summer in Puerto Rico,
conflicted with his wedding.
Mourning gets the spot that was expected to go to Shaquille
O'Neal, who indicated recently that he preferred to spend more time
with his 3-year-old daughter rather than devote 42 straight days to
the national team.
Allen, a fourth-year guard, beat out Carter for what was widely
considered the only truly wide-open spot available on the roster.
No other guards, including Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant and Eddie
Jones, received serious support during an approximately 30-minute
conference by the selection committee.
Carter had gained support in recent weeks as his high-flying
style of play and consistently productive scoring led the Raptors
into contention for first place in the Central Division.
"It's over. It's not a big deal," Carter said. "Yes, it's a
chance of a lifetime but I'm young. There's another in four years.
"I'll never ever say it was a bad decision because Ray Allen is
a great basketball player also. Obviously he deserves it."
Carter entered Tuesday night's games ranked fifth in the league
in scoring at 24.3 points per game. Allen ranked 14th, averaging
21.9.
Allen, however, is the better 3-point shooter, 42.4 percent to
Carter's 34.7 percent.
"I'm very disappointed for Vince. He deserves to be on the
team," Raptors general manager Glen Grunwald said. "He's one of
the best players in the world right now." | |
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