Ugo Okam, his teammate at both Harvard and Montverde, seems to agree.

Okam praised Moundou-Missi’s footwork and “ability to post up and be strong. He has strong legs.... I think it’s because he played soccer growing up.”

Attending boarding school away from his family and away from his home country was a challenge for the forward, but at Montverde Academy, Moundou-Missi quickly found success in both the classroom and the gym.

“In high school we had something like [a list of] the top 10 GPAs. He was always on it,” Okam said. “He’s always been this smart.”

At Montverde Academy, Moundou-Missi captained the men’s basketball team as a senior and earned several regional and national awards, including a selection to the ESPN Rise All-America second team. He led the Eagles to a second place finish at the 2010 ESPN National High School Invitational and was named Lake County Player of the Year as a senior.

Moundou-Missi has taken his success at Montverde with him to Harvard. Juggling a rigorous course load that includes Physics 15b: “Electromagnetism” and Applied Math 21b: “Mathematical Methods in the Sciences” while playing basketball for a Crimson team that has stayed consistently near the top 25 teams in the country is no easy feat.

“School comes first, basketball second,” Moundou-Missi insisted. “When everything is right in school, then I can play basketball. I knew that coming to college, that my biggest issue was going to be my time management. The first semester was really hard for me because I had to go to school, focus in school, get work done, and then go to practice.”

Moundou-Missi has found success in the Crimson rotation under the guidance of Tommy Amaker and a veteran-filled Harvard squad, averaging five points per game and 3.5 rebounds per game.

“I call him the silent assassin,” junior guard Brandyn Curry said. “He’s a quiet kid, well-mannered, but on the basketball court, he’s another animal.”

Okam agrees that Moundou-Missi is generally quiet, adding that his classmate has a hidden sense of humor.

“He has a funny side to him,” Okam said. “He will make fun of my jumpshot and joke. Steve’s a really funny character.”

When asked how he is able to manage such a busy schedule, Moundou-Missi points to organization and self-discipline.

“What motivates me is…I always think about why I’m here,” Moundou-Missi said. “I feel like going to another country, going to school, and playing basketball at the same time, I always feel like if I don’t play hard…this would be for nothing. That’s why I try my best. I don’t want to regret anything.”

A recipient of Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors after a stellar performance on Jan. 28, Moundou-Missi continues to play a big role for Harvard, as the team tries to clinch the Ivy League title and make a strong case for its first NCAA tournament bid since 1946.

“I think sports is one of those things that gets you outside of yourself,” he said. “Once you play a sport and you like it a lot, you just…don’t think about anything else except what you’re doing at the moment. I don’t think about homework, I don’t think about math, I don’t think about any girls I talk to. I’m just focused on what I have to do to make my team better. I would do anything to get it done.”