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BUFFALO, N.Y. — Indiana State had a new coach from Division II with forward-thinking ideas about how he wanted the Sycamores to play basketball. A big man with point-guard skills was required.
Priority No. 1 for Zak Boisvert, then an assistant to Josh Schertz in 2021, was to find that player.
“You’re going to need a five-man that can pass. A five-man that can shoot. A five-man that can think,” Boisvert said. “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 friend who was coaching high school ball in the Chicago area tipped him off to a possible solution — but the text also came with a warning.
“He doesn’t pass the look-test, but bear with me,” Boisvert, who is now an assistant for Schertz at Saint Louis, said Friday.
Five years and two schools later, Robbie Avila still doesn’t look like a typical basketball star, with his rec specs and not-quite-sculpted 6-foot-10, 240-pound body.
That will be especially evident Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament when Avila and ninth-seeded Saint Louis take on top-seeded Michigan. Across the front line, the Wolverines most definitely look the part: Chiseled 6-9 All-American Yaxel Lendeborg; 6-9 Morez Johnson Jr., who took over in the second half of the Wolverines’ first-round rout of Howard; and 7-3 center Aday Mara.
Still, Avila, the college basketball cult sensation dubbed Cream Abdul-Jabbar (or Milk Chamberlain or SLU Alcindor, among many other nicknames), is likely to be the most important player on the floor.
“Robbie is the ultimate connector,” Michigan coach Dusty May said. “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 as 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 said.
Quickly, Boisvert realized Avila was exactly the player he was looking for.
“You watch the film, and it just pops out, the shooting, the passing. And then you get a chance to talk to him, and the brain pops out, because his ultimate superpower is just 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 read the game. Even though he’s not the fastest player, he can read it at a fast pace, and it slows everything 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 all over social media and stuff like that, it was definitely an adjustment to be made. But like I said, I enjoy it. I have fun. I think the biggest thing is that I enjoy watching my family and friends enjoy it.”
Saint Louis dominated Georgia 102-77 in the first round on Thursday. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
Avila and Indiana State were denied the opportunity to break out into the mainstream in 2024. They lost in the Missouri Valley tournament final to Drake and were among the first four teams left out of the NCAA field by the selection committee.
When Schertz was hired away from Indiana State by Saint Louis after that season, Avila followed 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 said.
It took a year to put all the pieces in place, but Schertz and Avila were at it again this season. The Billikens started 24-1 and were good enough to snag the at-large bid that eluded Indiana State in 2024.
If there was any doubt they belonged, that was wiped away Thursday night when the Billikens carved up Georgia, 102-77. Avila had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists as Saint Louis’ second-half lead reached as high as 40.
Avila leads the Billikens in scoring and assists, even if his stats are down overall this season (12.9 points, 4.6 rebounds), in part because Saint Louis is one of the deepest teams in the country with nine players averaging at least 15 minutes. Schertz also revealed about a week ago that his MVP has been dealing with a nagging foot injury, though Avila has not missed a game.
For Saint Louis to knock off mighty Michigan, Avila will likely need to go from folk hero to superhero.
Boisvert would never doubt him.
“He doesn’t try to be anyone he’s not,” Boisvert said. “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.”
