The Associated Press

With one roster spot remaining to be filled, the U.S. Olympic basketball team is expected to choose size over shooting ability. Among the final candidates are Emeka Okafor, Brad Miller and Theo Ratliff, a source told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Carmelo Anthony has accepted an invitation to join the team, but two members of the NBA champion Detroit Pistons - Richard Hamilton and Ben Wallace - have declined, two sources close to USA Basketball said.

One of those sources said the USA Basketball selection committee has decided to add a center rather than a pure shooter - a decision that has knocked Michael Redd out of contention for a spot on the constantly evolving 12-man roster.

Only Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson remain from the U.S. team that won the Tournament of the Americas last summer to earn a berth in the Athens Olympics.

Following a slew of withdrawals and rejected invitations, the unofficial U.S. roster now includes Duncan, Iverson, Anthony, LeBron James, Richard Jefferson, Stephon Marbury, Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire, Lamar Odom and Carlos Boozer.

The addition of Miller, Okafor or Ratliff would give the team a true center, adding depth to a front line that includes only three power forwards - Duncan, Stoudemire and Boozer.

SECURITY: Israel will play a major role in securing the Athens Olympics, with its navy patrolling the Greek coast and military and intelligence officers working closely with the Greek armed forces, the U.S. Army and NATO.

Israel also is advising Greece on how to seal its airspace and coastal waters in the event of a terror attack, Israeli military officials said Tuesday.

A seven-nation security task force, including the United States, Britain and Israel, is part of the $1.2 billion security plans for the Aug. 13-29 Games.

There already are ties involving the Israeli navy, its Greek counterpart, the U.S. 6th Fleet and the relevant air forces. Greece, the U.S. Army and NATO also are in close contact with Israeli intelligence, the officials said.

Private Israeli firms will contribute to the Greek security effort, supplying patrol boats for the Greek navy, closed-circuit TV and other monitoring systems for the streets of Athens.

Israel's Shin Bet security agency will protect the Israeli team, guarding Israeli quarters in the Olympic village, sites Israeli athletes might visit and sailing events off the Greek coast. The agency has provided such protection since the 1972 killing of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.

The Olympic guard detail will be Israel's largest because of estimates of a potential terrorism against Israelis at the Games.

CHURCH AND STATE ... OF GAMES: Greece's outspoken church leader is confident Athens will excel in last-minute Olympic preparations.

"We Greeks succeed even when things are haphazard," Orthodox Archbishop Christodoulos said. "This is a - should I say it? - a Greek mess, which is inherent in our character. But in some miraculous way, it produces good results."

Christodoulos has canceled August holidays for Athens' priests so churches can be restored and kept open for Olympic visitors.