Carter Accepts Olympic Invite

March 22, 2000 / 6:33 PM EST / CBS/AP

All USA Basketball had to do was ask.

Vince Carter decided on Friday to accept an invitation to replace injured Tom Gugliotta on U.S. Olympic team for the Sydney Games.

"He's going," Dave Haggith, a spokesman for the NBA Toronto Raptors, said. "It's just a matter of dotting the i's and crossing the t's. It doesn't become official until two days from now."

In a conference call Thursday, the selection committee decided unanimously to offer the spot to Carter after Gugliotta was forced to withdraw because of reconstructive knee surgery. Carter received the invitation Thursday night.

Craig Miller, spokesman for USA Basketball, said a contract and other forms were being forwarded to the player selected by the committee.

"This takes more than a day. We anticipate an announcement early next week," Miller said.

Carter was angered in January when USA Basketball passed him over in favor of Ray Allen of the Milwaukee Bucks.

After the snub, Carter went on a tear. He was the leading vote-getter for the All-Star game and won the slam dunk competition. Then he scored 51 points in Toronto's first appearance on network television, nearly had a triple double in a game in New York and won two games in a week with 3-point buzzer-beaters.

"Vince really earned it. They said he wasn't good enough," Toronto coach Butch Carter said. "When I talked to him about what it's going to feel like when he walks into the Olympic stadium during opening ceremonies, it brought a huge smile to his face."

Despite the January snub, the opportunity to represent his country was too much to pass up. Carter had planned on finishing up his degree this summer at the University of North Carolina, but he'll likely have to put those plans on hold.

"He's had to do a lot of rescheduling, so its something that's important to him," Haggith said. "He's just trying to shuffle some things around, summer school and things like that."

The paperwork will be handled by his mother. She is taking care of Carter's business affairs after he split with agent William "Tank" Black. The agent is being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for violating securities laws.

Other members of the USA Basketball team are Allen, Alonzo Mourning, Grant Hill, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Gary Payton, Tim Hardaway, Steve Smith, Allan Houston, Vin Baker and Jason Kidd.

Kidd broke his ankle this week but is expected to recover in time for the start of the Olympic practices.

The U.S. Olympic Committee must submit its final roster for Sydney by Aug. 25.