At last, ‘Cream Abdul-Jabbar’ and Saint Louis arrive at March Madness
BUFFALO, NY — Among the various nicknames given to Saint Louis massive man Robbie Avila, coach Josh Schertz is keen on “Milk Chamberlain” and “SLU Alcindor.”
“Those two are probably two of my favorites,” stated Schertz, whose ninth-seeded Billikens confronted No. 8 Georgia on Thursday in a Midwest Region first-round sport that matches two of the highest-scoring groups within the nation.
The begoggled Avila grew to become a cult hero amongst faculty basketball followers two seasons in the past when he led Indiana State to among the best seasons within the historical past of a program that produced Hall of Famer Larry Bird. Avila picked up the monikers “Larry Nerd” and “Larry Blurred” due to that connection. Or perhaps you like “Cream Abdul-Jabbar?”
The Sycamores fell simply in need of reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2023-24 after shedding to Drake within the Missouri Valley Conference title sport, as an alternative touchdown within the NIT.
They then misplaced the NIT last to Seton Hall by 2 factors.
Avila was the star of that workforce, averaging 17.4 factors, 6.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per sport. When Schertz left for Saint Louis after that season, the 6-foot-10, 240-pound Avila adopted the coach to the Atlantic 10.
Avila was simply as productive final season, however the Billikens completed off the tempo within the A-10 and have been one-and-done within the NIT.
“I wanted to get this team to the NCAA Tournament for a lot of reasons, but he was the biggest,” Schertz stated Wednesday. “There’s a lot of people that helped bring me here, but I just never wanted him to have ended his career not in the tournament, particularly after what happened to that Indiana State team in 2024.”
Avila’s numbers are down this 12 months (12.9 factors, 4.5 rebounds), however that is as a result of Saint Louis options one of many deepest and most balanced groups within the nation with seven gamers averaging at least 9 factors per sport.
“Everything he sacrificed, he sacrificed money, sacrificed playing time,” Schertz stated. “He sets an unbelievable tenor for our whole program. His sense of humor, his humility, his team orientation, the kind of competitor he is, the way he cares about people. His compassion.”
Georgia coach Mike White stated Avila is actually and figuratively at the middle of the Billikens’ offense.
“He’s a guy that the more you study him on film, the more you appreciate his instincts and his quick-thinking ability. He’s got an innate ability to draw fouls,” White stated. “He shoots it really well from 3 at pretty high volume. Shoots it like a guard. But in my opinion, I think what really separates him as at 6-10, 240 is his ability to pass the basketball and makes everyone around him better. They’ve got other good passers, too, but I don’t think we have faced a 5 that passes it like this this season.”
Schertz stated success following Avila is not any coincidence.
“When you look at the history of Indiana State basketball, the history of Saint Louis basketball, they all have pockets of success, but he’s really changed the trajectory of two mid-major programs that aren’t household, nationally ranked teams on a year-in, year-out basis, and he did the same thing in high school,” Schertz stated.
Avila was the final Saint Louis participant to go away the ground of the KeyBank Center on Wednesday as he took time to signal autographs and pose for images with followers after the open follow.
He known as the connection he has constructed with Schertz “special.”
“To kind of end my last year with him and just being in college in general with a tournament appearance, it’s a blessing,” Avila stated. “And to be able to do it with the group of guys we’ve got here, it makes it more special. We’re just soaking it in, but we’re just ready to compete.”
