ANAHEIM, Calif. — When Florida State center Christ Koumadje arrived in the United States, his basketball experience was, by his own admission, very limited. 

So, when Koumadje left Senegal in 2013 and arrived at the premier prep basketball school in America, Montverde Academy, “It was a learning process.” 

What the Chad-born Koumadje lacked in basketball experience before arriving at Montverde, he made up for in high potential—literally. Koumadje is listed at 7-foot-4, and stood over 7-foot when, via Ibrahima Ndiaye’s Flying Star Academy in Dakar, Senegal, he embarked on his American excursion.

Among the quick lessons Koumadje learned on the Montverde roster was proof of that better competition yields better results. 

“Almost everyone [on the varsity team] went to Division I [universites], so in practice, I was playing against high-division players,” Koumadje said, his long frame no less impressive seated on a chair in a locker room at Anaheim’s Honda Center than if he was standing. 

“That prepared me a lot for the next step.” 

The next step, in this instance, is contributing for a second consecutive year to Florida State advancing to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles return to Southern California where, in 2018, they knocked off Gonzaga to reach the program’s first Elite Eight since 1993.

Getting back to Cali a year later included a 90-62 rout of Murray State in which Koumadje scored six points, grabbed nine rebounds, and his length helped clog lanes to prevent NBA prospect Ja Morant from finding open teammates. 

He’s found a role on a squad rich with talent—a quality that, when players don’t adopt an unselfish philosophy, can be detrimental in jockeying for playing time. Florida State doesn’t have that issue. 

Coach Leonard Hamilton said Mfiondu Kabengele went so far as to ask to stay out for stretches against Murray State “because he wanted Christ to have minutes.” 

Florida State featuring 11 players who can and do contribute regularly is similar to the Montverde experience Koumadje described, in which the roster featured DI-caliber talent up and down the lineup. 

That characteristic of the Montverde program was evident in this NCAA Tournament, which featured nine alumni in the field. One of them, Filip Petrusev, will be opposite Koumadje in the Sweet 16. 

This is the Gonzaga freshman Petrusev’s first NCAA Tournament. March Madness’ full cultural footprint in the United State was on full display for the Serbian native on Wednesday; among the contingent of media in the Zags locker room interviewing Petrusev was Guillermo Rodriguez of Jimmy Kimmel Live! fame.

A level of basketball that attracts coverage from the stars may be new to Petrusev, but playing on a star-studded team is not. This year at Gonzaga, he’s with breakout star Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura, two likely future NBA’ers. 

Last season while winning a national championship at Montverde, it was current Duke wing R.J. Barrett and Florida point guard Andrew Nembhard, who came a loss to Michigan shy of making it three Montverde alums in Anaheim.   

Petrusev said the Eagles alumni keep in touch through social media, citing Snapchat specifically. With a network of players around the country, the opportunity for face-to-face meetings exists—like when Petrusev’s Zags beat Barrett’s Blue Devils in November’s Maui Invitational. 

When they’re not meeting head-to-head, as Duke and Gonzaga could if both make the Final Four, former Eagles teammates are supportive of each other’s success. 

“To see him out there at Duke, doing what he’s doing, it’s really cool,” Petrusev said of Barrett.  

Thursday’s matchup at Honda Center spans different generations of Montverde basketball. Koumadje is a senior while Petrusev’s a freshman, and the two have had no prior interaction. It’s not Petrusev’s first meeting this season with an elder Eagle—he cited the Zags’ nonconference matchup with Noah Dickerson and Washington—and that prep connection can sometimes spark new bonds. 

“When you see somebody who went to your old high school, the first things you ask them about—your old coach, the dean, all those guys on campus who gave us a hard time—we laugh,” Koumadje said of matching up with fellow Montverde products. 

No matter if Florida State or Gonzaga advances on Thursday, it will not mark an end to the Montverde ties for either program. The Seminoles are bringing in Balsa Koprivica, a 7-foot center who will vie for Koumadje’s starting role when the senior leaves to pursue a pro career. Gonzaga coach Mark Few landed Pavel Zakharov, a big man who could join Petrusev in the frontcourt for 2019-2020.

Kyle Kensing is a freelance sports journalist in southern California. Follow him on Twitter @kensing45.