Villanova's James Bell is among 13 finalists for the U.S. basketball team for the Under-19 World Championships in Latvia.
Players took part in a 3-day training camp in Colorado Springs, Colo. and will continue training this week before departing for Europe. One player will be cut after those sessions to get to the final 12-man roster. The team will play two scrimmages against Lithuania before the tournament begins June 30.
Team USA is the defending champion, winning the gold medal in 2009.
Stress fractures in both legs prevented Bell's first season at Villanova from ever really getting started. The 6-5 guard from Orlando scored a career-high 21 points against Seton Hall in which he made four three-pointers and helped the Wildcats win a game they desperately needed at the time.
Other finalists: Keith Appling (Michigan State), Anthony Brown (Stanford), Jahii Carson (Mesa High School/Arizona State), Tim Hardaway Jr. (Michigan), Joe Jackson (Memphis), Jeremy Lamb (Connecticut), Meyers Leonard (Illinois), Khyle Marshall (Butler), Javon McCrea (Buffalo), Doug McDermott (Creighton), Tony Mitchell (North Texas) and Patric Young (Florida).
George Mason's Paul Hewitt, a former Villanova assistant, is the head coach.
"The focus from here has got to be on defense," Hewitt said. "I don't think that we can be a team that's going to have the most continuity, so we have to be a really good defensive team and capitalize on our ability to get stops in transition."
