Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports that USA Basketball has finished choosing their roster for the 2002 FIBA World Basketball Championships, and Steve Francis was again excluded.  Making the team were Ray Allen, Jason Kidd, Reggie Miller, Antonio Davis, Michael Finley, Shawn Marion, Jermaine O'Neal, Andre Miller, Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz.  The roster is rounded out with two college players, Jason Williams and one yet to be named.

Francis has always been openly enthusiastic about participating on such teams and has been snubbed in the past.  Hopefully, he'll take some motivation from it: "As usual, like last year not making the All-Star team, this will just make me work harder."

While Rudy Tomjanovich thinks Francis would be great for international play, George Karl, who will be coaching the USA team, seems to prefer the traditional point guard skills of Andre Miller: "I love the way he plays the game, and I think it's vital that the coaches and the point guard are on the same page. I think Andre understands the game, he's unselfish and he doesn't turn the ball over."