Forward Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons, center Alonzo Mourning of the Miami Heat and guard Ray Allen of the Milawukee Bucks Tuesday were named to the United States men's basketball Olympic team.

The selections, officially announced by USA Basketball on January 11, complete the 12-man squad that will take part in the Summer Olympics on September 16-October 1 in Sydney, Australia.

"The three players bring a tremendous amount of additional talent to our national team," said Rod Thorn, chairman of the USA Basketball Senior National Team Committee. "Mourning brings a terrific inside game, rebounding, shot-blocking and the ability to run the court."

"Hill can score and pass, play multiple positions and has tremendous flexibility, while Allen is a pure shooter who will help us when we go against a zone defense, plus he's an all-around athlete who can play many positions," he said.

Previously named to the team on March 10, 1999 were Seattle's Vin Baker and Gary Payton, Phoenix's Tom Gugliotta and Jason Kidd,San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, New York's Allan Houston, Miami's Tim Hardaway and Portland's Steve Smith.

A member of the 1996 US team that captured the Olympic gold medal in Atlanta, Hill had been selected to five previous US teams. He averaged 9.7 points and 3.5 rebounds on the US squad that captured the gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Allen, the fifth overall pick in 1996, was a member of the 1995US team that won the gold medal at the World University Games. He was the second-leading scorer on that club, averaging 15.6 points per game.

Mourning replaced Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal, who recently indicated he did not want to play. O'Neal was a member of the 1996 US Olympic team.

The US qualified for the Sydney Olympics by going 10-0 in the qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico last summer and earned one of two American Zone berths.

Houston Rockets mentor Rudy Tomjanovich will coach the club, while Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown will serve as assistant.

A US Olympic squad consisting of NBA players, which became known as the "Dream Team," was first put together in 1992 and the Americans went 8-0 in Barcelona, claiming victories by an average margin of 43.8 points per game.

Four years later, the United States also went 8-0, but was slightly less dominant, winning by an average of 31.7 points per game.