BUENOS AIRES (FIBA U17 World Championship) - Those who may have seen Lucio Delfino last summer will notice a major difference this year in the Argentinean's game.

After dominating in the post as a power-forward at the U17 South American Championship and the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in 2013, the 17-year-old is taking his game outside.

Delfino did not shoot a single three-pointer at either of those tournaments.

Yet, at the 2014 Albert Schweitzer Tournament (AST) in Mannheim, Germany in April, Delfino hoisted 24 three-balls in six games and made eight of them for a respectable 33 percent.

"In those tournaments, I played the power forward position. I didn't shoot much outside but I worked a lot on my shot and now I am playing like a small forward, something that I want to do because I like the game more playing as a small forward," said the 1.97m player.

The Santa Fe native realises he's a better talent prospect if he can play the small forward position as well.

"I really worked on it. The coach told me I had to play small forward and I really shot a lot in practice to get where I am."

But to do that, he needed to work on his shooting as well as his ability to attack the rim. He's still working on the latter.

Delfino, like many in Argentina, has the lofty goal of one day playing in the NBA - something his older brother Carlos Delfino has done for nine of the past 10 seasons with the Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets.

Lucio, who is 14 years younger than Carlos, at times still has trouble realising that he's watching his brother play against some of the great players in the game.

"It's like being on another planet seeing your brother play against those players. Sometimes I can't believe it. But he's a great player and I really like how he plays," said the younger brother.

And Lucio knows he still has a lot of work to do before he gets to where his brother currently is.

"I have to keep improving my shot. I have to improve my body and I have to improve my ball handling. Those are the three things I need to work on. But I still have time to work on them all - also on defense."

Delfino's next step in his career will come this summer as he expects to be a leader for Argentina at the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"We want to be the best team we can be. We had a great tournament at the FIBA Americas U16 last summer and I think we can go far," he explained.

Argentina have been drawn in Group D with Serbia, China and Egypt.

"I think it's an acceptable group. It's the best tournament you can play at this age. I want to enjoy it. And I hope we can play for a podium spot."

Delfino will likely have already played for Argentina in the summer as he is expected to play at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship, where his goal will be to help the team qualify for the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship.

And just like last summer to this summer, Delfino hopes to have added more to his game by then for people to notice.

FIBA