We knew this last week when a report leaked, but now it is official: Paul George is on the USA Select Team. The Select Team’s main purpose is to play against Team USA during its training camp in Las Vegas from July 6-12 in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics in London, which begin July 27.

Here is the full 13-man roster for the Select Team.

• Ryan Anderson – Orlando Magic
• DeJuan Blair – San Antonio Spurs
• DeMarcus Cousins – Sacramento Kings
• DeMar DeRozan – Toronto Raptors
• Derrick Favors – Utah Jazz
• Paul George – Indiana Pacers
• Taj Gibson – Chicago Bulls
• Gordon Hayward – Utah Jazz
• Kyrie Irving – Cleveland Cavaliers
• Kawhi Leonard – San Antonio Spurs
• Jeremy Lin – New York Knicks
• Klay Thompson – Golden State Warriors
• John Wall – Washington Wizards

This also, in theory, sets George on a course for perhaps playing for Team USA’s varsity squad. There are obviously a ton of wing players that will always be in contention, but having this on his resume obviously can’t hurt.

USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo said as much in statement.

“Being chosen for the Select Team is quite an honor, and it’s an important step in becoming involved in USA Basketball’s National Team program in the future,” said Colangelo. “In the past, current national team finalists like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Derrick Rose, LaMarcus Aldridge, Andre Iguodala, as well as many other outstanding players got their USA National Team start through the Select Team.”

There are 20 NBA players who still have a shot to represent the United States during the Olympics in London this summer. Danny Granger is not among them.

Former North Central High School and Indiana University star Eric Gordon was selected to be part of the 20-player pool that could represent the USA in the London Olympics this summer. Gordon was part of the gold medal-winning team in the World Championship in 2010.

Granger, also a member of the 2010 World Championship team, was not one of the 20 players chosen.

The 12-man roster and alternates for London will be announced in June.

As Tom Lewis of Indy Cornrows notes, this is for the best “considering Granger wouldn’t make the final team anyway and will be able to enjoy a normal offseason.” And since Danny didn’t even get that much run in the World Championship tournament in 2010, this is hardly a surprise.

Saturday’s Team USA scrimmage vs. China was entertaining for the few onlookers inside Madison Square Garden. But more than anything, Danny Granger was just happy to play against some foreign competition after “beating up on each other for the past month,” as Granger put it.

And in the process, Granger may have also — finally — put to rest any “bubble” talk from analysts speculating whether or not Danny would make Team USA’s final, 12-man roster for the upcoming 2010 FIBA World Championship that start August 28 in Turkey. After the run, he himself admitted that it would he thinks it would be hard for anyone to leave him off the team after he went out and led the team with 22 points on 9/12 shooting, including 10 first quarter points (on 4/4 shooting) that helped set the tone for Team USA dominance.

His good shooting performance, along with two blocks during one four-minute stretch he had in the third quarter while playing out of the team’s 2-3 half-court zone and full-court zone press, should also put to rest any concerns about his finger, which he initially injured last week when his hand was caught in the net while playing defense. He originally thought the finger might be broken, or at least dislocated, but it turned out to just be a mild sprain, he said. Though he is still taping the ring and middle fingers of his shooting hand together and he admits “it was kind of weird,” just being aggressive out there helped him play so well Saturday.

“A lot of times, I’ve been passive and that’s not my game,” said Granger. “So I was going out there with that aggressive mentality.” Scorers gonna score, basically, was his mindset, as he added that he thinks every shot is a good shot.

It’s not just Granger that international defenses are going to have to worry about on the wing, of course,. Between him, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay and Andre Iguodala, the team has a whole stable of potent, athletic scorers. “We all are scorers when we’re out there,” he said. “It’s great because we’re all athletic.”

The transition to the shorter three-point line has been an adjustment for Danny, but based on the way he shot Saturday, moving in a few feet certainly hasn’t done anything to take away his most lethal weapon. And for the personnel on this team overall, the shorter line might be a good thing—particularly for guys like Derrick Rose and Lamar Odom who have accurate shots from midrange but become more erratic from 24 feet. “We all have to go through that [adjustment],” said Granger. “For some of us who aren’t shooters, it’s better.”

As far as all the activity back in Indiana, Danny loved the deal the Pacers made to acquire Darren Collison, calling it “an excellent trade.” Now that Troy Murphy is out of the picture, he expects to play the four spot more often next season, although he does think Larry Bird will make another deal to acquire a true power forward. Him playing extended minutes at the four probably isn’t ideal – for him or the Pacers – but he noted that his “ability to shoot the ball, stretch the floor” will help the offense. “Coach likes that,” he said.

UPDATE: From what Danny knows about Darren, he thinks Jim O’Brien will like Darren’s long-distance shooting, too. “When he got drafted, I’m not sure they knew how good of a shooter he was,” said Granger. “But he ended up shooting 40% from three for the year.”

The other big change for Danny during his Team USA days has been his shoes. Along with Durant and Rondo, he is wearing the red, white and blue colorway Nike Hyperfuse. He never wore them last season but is impressed and enjoys that several of the guys are all wearing the same Star Spangled design.