Where did Robbie Avila come from? The superpowers of Saint Louis star ‘Cream Abdul-Jabbar’

The Athletic has stay protection of the second round of 2026 Men’s March Madness.

BUFFALO, NY — Indiana State had a brand new coach from Division II with forward-thinking concepts about how he wished the Sycamores to play basketball. An enormous man with point-guard abilities was required.

Priority No. 1 for Zak Boisvert, then an assistant to Josh Schertz in 2021, was to seek out that participant.

“You’re going to need a five-man that can pass. A five-man that can shoot. A five-man that can think,” Boisvert mentioned. “I was really very, very diligent about looking for a five-man, because none of this would work without it. That’s the most important part of our offense.”

A good friend who was teaching highschool ball within the Chicago space tipped him off to a attainable resolution — however the textual content additionally got here with a warning.

“He doesn’t pass the look-test, but bear with me,” Boisvert, who’s now an assistant for Schertz at Saint Louis, mentioned Friday.

Five years and two colleges later, Robbie Avila nonetheless does not appear like a typical basketball star, along with his rec specs and not-quite-sculpted 6-foot-10, 240-pound physique.

That will likely be particularly evident Saturday within the second spherical of the NCAA Tournament when Avila and ninth-seeded Saint Louis tackle top-seeded Michigan. Across the entrance line, the Wolverines most undoubtedly look the half: Chiseled 6-9 All-American Yaxel Lendeborg; 6-9 Morez Johnson Jr., who took over within the second half of the Wolverines’ first-round rout of Howard; and 7-3 middle Aday Mara.

Still, Avila, the faculty basketball cult sensation dubbed Cream Abdul-Jabbar (or Milk Chamberlain or SLU Alcindor, among many other nicknames), is prone to be crucial participant on the ground.

“Robbie is the ultimate connector,” Michigan coach Dusty May mentioned. “He’s one of the best decision-makers that I’ve seen in college basketball as far as how quickly he can process and make the right decisions, and he puts the defense in a pickle almost every single possession.

“He’s been fun to watch and to see his journey. Because you put him with different players like the hub and they look like a well-oiled machine no matter who the other four guys are because of the intelligence he brings and the skill level.”

Avila was playing at Oak Forest High School when an opposing coach alerted Boisvert to him. Boisvert first searched Avila online and, no, he did not pass the look test.

“What’s the Brad Pitt line from ‘Moneyball’? ‘We’re not selling jeans. We’re trying to win baseball games.’ Ultimately, you got to sift through that,” Boisvert mentioned.

Quickly, Boisvert realized Avila was precisely the participant he was on the lookout for.

“You watch the movie, and it simply pops out, the capturing, the passing. And you then get an opportunity to speak to him, and the mind pops out, as a result of his final superpower is simply how he thinks,” Boisvert said. “It took (Schertz) 16 minutes of basketball to say the kid’s perfect for us.”

Schertz spent 13 seasons at Division II Lincoln Memorial in Tennessee, where he won 83 percent of his games and was an NCAA Tournament regular. He was hired by Indiana State in 2021.

Indiana State is best known as the school that produced Celtics great Larry Bird, but the Sycamores have played in the tournament only three times since that famous NCAA championship game appearance against Magic Johnson’s Michigan State team in 1979.

With Avila leading the way (17.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game) as a sophomore in 2024, the Sycamores seemed primed to snap a 12-year NCAA drought. They finished 17-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference, and Avila went viral. The nicknames followed.

Larry Nerd. Larry Blurred. Steph Blurry. College Jokic and Baby Jokic, because his all-around, close-to-the-ground game is similar to the three-time NBA MVP.

“We call him Baby Jokic,” SLU guard Trey Green said. “He can learn the sport. Even although he isn’t the quickest participant, he can learn it at a quick tempo, and it slows all the pieces down for us.”

Avila’s personal favorite nickname is Rob Wave, playing off the husky rapper Rod Wave.

“It definitely took a little bit for me to kind of get used to when it first started happening sophomore year,” Avila said Friday. “Seeing my face throughout social media and stuff like that, it was undoubtedly an adjustment to be made. But like I mentioned, I take pleasure in it. I’ve enjoyable. I feel the largest factor is that I take pleasure in watching my household and mates take pleasure in it.”

Avila and Indiana State had been denied the chance to interrupt out into the mainstream in 2024. They misplaced within the Missouri Valley event remaining to Drake and had been among the many first 4 groups overlooked of the NCAA discipline by the choice committee.

When Schertz was employed away from Indiana State by Saint Louis after that season, Avila adopted the coach to the Atlantic 10.

“Having the ability to trust him, the way he trusted me out of high school, it was definitely huge,” Avila mentioned.

It took a 12 months to place all of the items in place, however Schertz and Avila had been at it once more this season. The Billikens began 24-1 and had been adequate to snag the at-large bid that eluded Indiana State in 2024.

If there was any doubt they belonged, that was wiped away Thursday evening when the Billikens carved up Georgia, 102-77. Avila had 12 factors, 5 rebounds and 5 assists as Saint Louis’ second-half lead reached as excessive as 40.

Avila leads the Billikens in scoring and assists, even when his stats are down total this season (12.9 factors, 4.6 rebounds), partially as a result of Saint Louis is one of the deepest groups within the nation with 9 gamers averaging not less than quarter-hour. Schertz additionally revealed a couple of week in the past that his MVP has been coping with a nagging foot harm, though Avila has not missed a sport.

For Saint Louis to knock off mighty Michigan, Avila will doubtless must go from folks hero to superhero.

Boisvert would by no means doubt him.

“He doesn’t try to be anyone he’s not,” Boisvert mentioned. “Understanding who you are and not trying to be someone you’re not is a superpower, and that guy gets it. I think it really makes him a better player, because I think he’s secure in himself, sure in who he is and his faults. I think that really is his superpower.”