WASHINGTON (FIBA U17 World Championship/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Emerging star Bradley Beal stepped up his game for the Washington Wizards in his second season in the NBA. And winning the inaugural FIBA U17 World Championship in 2010 played a big role in the1 being prepared for big games like the playoffs.

Beal was the MVP of the first-ever FIBA U17 World Championship, guiding the USA to the title with an undefeated record in Hamburg, Germany. The St Louis native was third in the tournament in scoring with 18.3 points while shooting 48 percent from three-point range.

"It made me mentally and physically tough," said Beal, who was joined on the USA team by fellow future NBA players Andre Drummond, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Anthony Wroten, Marquis Teague and Adonis Thomas.

"One thing I definitely learned from the guys overseas is that they're really crafty in everything they do. They defend well, they're very active with their hands. And they can all shoot the ball. The biggest thing I got better at was being mentally tough and being able to fight through adversity.!

Beal said he also learned a lot by playing with some of his very talented USA teammates.

"Playing against those guys and getting a chance to play with them, it definitely brings out the competitiveness and everybody continues to get better. We make everybody better in some shape or fashion," he explained.

"To be on that stage, I actually embraced it at a young age. I knew I wasn't on the team for no reason. I just did the best that I could and we ended up bringing back the title."

In general, the shooting guard thoroughly enjoyed his time at the U17 Worlds.

"It was terrific. A lot of those guys from those different countries can play in the NBA. There were a lot of talented guys there," he recalled.

"It's very different, a very different lifestyle - both on and off the court. Just having that experience was terrific and one I would never trade for anything. Whenever you have a chance to represent your country and are able to play for a gold medal, obviously it's a great feeling."

Beal also went through two other unique experiences in Hamburg.

One of them was observing a football-mad nation like Germany during a World Cup, as Germany ended up taking third place in at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

"It was really crazy because Germany beat Argentina. The streets were out of control, people were all over the place. We watched the game on a huge big screen. It was definitely a fun experience. And when they won, it was like the whole city was just jumping for joy and it didn't stop for three days," he remembered fondly.

The other moment - the one Beal said he enjoyed most - was a gift exchange with other teams in the team hotel after the championship game.

"There was a big gift exchange. We all stayed at the same hotel, so it was just a bunch of basketball players on different floors exchanging uniforms, shorts, shoes. That was pretty cool because there was no bitterness. That showed that they were great sportsmen. It was pretty cool to be able to see the different cultures," he offered.

After one season at the University of Florida, Beal was selected with the third overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Wizards. He was named to the All-Rookie First Team and put up solid numbers during his first season.

He then improved on nearly all of his numbers during the 2013-14 campaign and also led Washington to the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

"Overall, it was a great season. I definitely got a lot better from last year. As a team we did well. We improved a lot. We went a lot farther than a lot of people thought we would," said Beal, whose numbers improved even more in the post-season as the Wizards knocked off the Chicago Bulls in the first round but lost to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

"We definitely got better day by day and individually I accomplished many of my goals this year but there's still a lot of motivation to continue to get better moving on to the future. I had a few injuries this year that kind of held me back a little bit. But overall I think I had a solid year."

He also increased his three-point shooting accuracy from 38.6 percent during his rookie year to 40.2 percent this past season.

"That was one of my biggest goals, because last year I didn't shoot as well as I wanted to. There were a few times this year where I didn't shoot as well as I wanted to but my main goal was definitely to be over 40 percent," said Beal, who upped that to 41.5 percent in the playoffs.

"I have to give credit to my teammates and my point guard because they did a great job of getting me the ball in my spots. And I was fortunate to be able to knock them down. And hopefully those percentages can get higher and higher."

All that improvement led USA coach Mike Krzyzewski to select Beal in the pool of 28 players for the 2014-2016 cycle of national team competitions, which includes this summer's FIBA Basketball World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

"It means a lot. I played with the U16s and U17s and those were great experiences for me. My biggest goal ever was to make the national team. And now I have the opportunity," said Beal, who believes he would provide the team with "a lot of heart" to go with his strong shooting ability.

"First I have to try out next month and hopefully I will be able to showcase my talents to be able to represent my country in Spain."

When asked what it would mean to line up for the USA at Spain 2014 (30 August-14 September), Beal said: "It would be awesome, just because it would be a chance to play with a lot of the guys I play against in the NBA."

Just being with the players during the tryouts and/or training camp is something he relishes.

"It's definitely going to be fun and I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to make the team and if so I will definitely embrace it."

Just like his experience from 2010. And it will make him that much better.

FIBA