DENVER (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - It won't be long before Evan Fournier hops on a trans-Atlantic flight and returns to France to visit family and become reacquainted with everything he misses in his homeland.

The Denver Nuggets shooting guard, now with a couple of NBA seasons under his belt, is to leave 1 July for Europe.

After playing an average of more than 19 minutes per game (76 appearances) in 2013-14 - an increase of 8.5 on the 38 contests he took part in as a rookie - Fournier will also have an additional bounce in his step when he joins the French national team on 21 July at INSEP in Paris.

The 21-year-old will know that his career is moving in the right direction and that going to the NBA has been a good move.

At the training camp, national team coach Vincent Collet will be able to get a close look at a player who has added three inches to his vertical leap and increased his strength by 40 percent since he was selected in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft.

"I definitely feel stronger," Fournier said.

"I still have to get stronger because I like to penetrate and get to the paint."

He needed the improved leaping ability and additional muscle to survive in the NBA.

"You get hit a lot of times," he said.

"With 82 games, it's hard. I want to be stronger so I can take the contact better."

There is every chance that Collet will keep Fournier in the squad for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup with tough Group A games coming up against Serbia, Brazil, Iran, Egypt and hosts Spain.

All of those encounters will be held in Granada.

Fournier has played for his country at youth level but now wants to don the senior team shirt.

He wants to help Les Bleus build on last summer, when they competed in Slovenia and captured a EuroBasket title for the first time.

"Playing for your country is special, especially in the World Cup," he said.

"We have a very good team."

A 1.99m native of Saint-Maurice, France, Fournier says any time at all spent with the national squad is going to be beneficial and help him improve.

"You learn a lot of things," he said.

"The game in Europe is slower, and the court is smaller.

"You have to make difficult plays to get in a good position. (So) You have to learn a lot of tricks.

"It's going to help me, for sure."

Meanwhile, France's A team coach Pascal Donnadieu, has named the 12-player squad that will play Italy in friendly games in Brindisi and Tarente 24-26 July.

Vincent Poirier, Wilfried Yeguete and Enfin Jordan Aboudou are not making the trip.

While an administrative problem has apparently prevented Poirier from traveling, Yeguete has been left behind because it's yet to be determined if he is going to play as a power forward or center.

He is also, the coach said, trying to adapt to the European game after playing in American college basketball.

Aboudou needs to improve his post game.

"Since the beginning in Vichy," Donnadieu said, "the group has showed a lot of enthusiasm and application in training and we are very pleased."

FIBA