Kendrick Perkins was named to the 27-man Team USA roster to compete in the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey and then, if the team qualifies, and it probably will, the 2012 London Olympics.

Perkins will be competing with Dwight Howard, Brooke Lopez, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Al Jefferson for one of the center spots on the 2012 Olympic team.

Returning coach Mike Krzyzewski, who led the 2008 team to a gold medal, has been impressed with Perkins' defense, and that is why he believes Perkins should be on the team.

"He plays on a team that's a championship level team and he knows how to play with great players," Krzyzewski said during a teleconference on Wednesday. "I think he is one of the better defensive players in the league and that really appealed to us about Kendrick."

Perkins is averaging a career-high 11.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He is also averaging 1.9 blocks and is a player that Howard calls one of, if not the best defensive center in the league.

"Perkins can guard the bigs," said Team USA basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo. "He should be able to perform very well competitively, very well in the international game.

"As we look at our roster there is also a need for how are you going to defend against the bigs that we see on a number of European teams, South American teams and he has the ability to do that. He has a significant opportunity."

When asked why Boston All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo was not selected, Colangelo said: "Rondo was not responsive to the inquiries regarding his interest so we just assumed that was the case."