Oliver Kupe could’ve been in last year’s Final Four.

Instead, he came to Northwestern, and joined a soccer team that ended up a game away from finishing among college soccer’s final four teams.

Kupe is a natural fit for basketball: he’s 6’3″, quick and athletic, and performed well enough in high school that Michigan State, a team that ended up in last year’s NCAA Championship game, was willing to give him a spot as a preferred walk-on.

But growing up in Luxembourg, Kupe was raised on soccer. And the choice between dribbling with his hands or with his feet was an easy one.

“I love Michigan State basketball,” Kupe said. “But I’ve just always loved soccer more.”

His teammates and coaches around NU seem to think he made the right choice.

“He gives us an athletic element we haven’t had here,” coach Tim Lenahan said. “He can beat teams by getting behind them with his speed, and his strength is underrated.”

Kupe’s story spans not just two sports, but also three continents.

His parents come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but moved from the war-torn African nation to Europe. Kupe lived the first seven years of his life in the tiny nation of Luxembourg.

“You’re exposed to a lot of different cultures,” Kupe said. “And you learn a lot of different languages, which helps you out in life.”

Kupe can speak five different languages: English, French, German, Luxembourgish (a language closely related to German, which is one of the national languages of his home country) and Kikongo, an African language spoken by his parents. Perhaps the biggest impact the European upbringing had on him is his love of soccer.

“You’re exposed to soccer in a very different way in Europe,” Kupe said. “Over there, it’s not the football or basketball team filling up the stadium. It’s soccer.”

The skills Kupe’s developed from a young age play an integral role in NU’s attack. He leads the team with six assists.

“I’m more of a creator than a finisher,” Kupe said. “I try to get down and beat people and let others score goals.”

His talent at passing to others might be due to his days on the hardwood tossing the ball around the horn.

“He’s got a great vision and talent for finding people,” Lenahan said. “It’s something not a lot of guys have, and I think it comes from his background in basketball.”

He only has three collegiate goals, but they’ve been well-timed. Despite playing 18 games as a freshman last season, he didn’t score any regular season goals, nor did he score in the first game of the team’s NCAA tournament run, nor did he score in the first half of their next game. But when the team was down 1-0, Kupe scored twice, heading home a game-winner with 1:14 remaining on the clock in NU’s 2-1 victory over Notre Dame.Despite only notching one goal this year, Kupe’s skill set makes him a difficult task for the opposition.

“He’s got a combination of both speed and size,” fellow sophomore Peter O’Neill said, “That’s hard to stop.”

Kupe’s passing skills and physical gifts have been a key factor in the success of No. 16 NU (6-1-4, 1-0-1 Big Ten), who just earned a No. 1 ranking in the most recently released RPI.

Being a contributor on a top team gives him peace of mind about turning down last year’s basketball runner-up.

“I get the impression that I probably wasn’t going to play much there,” Kupe [email protected]