In March 2024, one couldn’t open social media without seeing Robbie Avila’s face, decked out in his signature prescription goggles. His highlights, which reminded fans of three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, played on a loop. Every major sports outlet covered the 6-foot-10 sophomore center from Indiana State, who had led the program to its best season since 1978-79, when Larry Bird was the Sycamores’ star.
He was no longer just Robbie Avila. He was “Cream Abdul-Jabbar,” “Larry Nerd,” “College Jokic,” and “Steph Blurry.”
The first viral posts came in the wake of a masterful 35-point performance against Evansville on Feb. 28. Then it was an avalanche. “It was definitely an overnight thing,” Avila, now a senior at Saint Louis, tells Hoops HQ. “It was an adjustment for me, just seeing my face and my name all over different platforms.”
Avila fully grasped the scale of it when he received an unexpected follow on Instagram from Mark Cuban. “That was the biggest ‘Oh my God, this is real’ moment,” Avila says with a chuckle. “I remember I sent a screenshot to my family to show them that I wasn’t lying.”
Nearly two years later, the craze has quieted to the point where Cream Abdul-Jabbar is — once again — flying under the radar. As he enters his final season of college basketball, the pieces are in place for Avila to make more noise than ever before. Saint Louis is projected to be one of the top teams in the Atlantic 10, which could lead to Avila’s first NCAA Tournament appearance.
“He wants to make this last ride his best ride,” says Billikens coach Josh Schertz. “We’ve got a really good team and a chance to do something special. I feel a responsibility to a lot of different factions — our fans, our administration and the people who have really supported us. But honestly, my biggest responsibility to get this team to maximize its potential is to Robbie.”
During the peak of Avila-mania in 2024, Indiana State narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament. Rumors swirled about the future of Schertz, who was then coaching the Sycamores but drawing interest from several prominent programs. Before the NIT tipped off in mid-March, Schertz met with each of his starters to address the outside noise. “Part of that conversation was, hey, there’s going to be all of this noise, but understand that if you guys want to come back to Indiana State and chase an NCAA Tournament bid next year, I’m all in on that,” says Schertz. “And if you want to do something different, I don’t need to know now, but I want to know where everybody stands. And there wasn’t a consensus.”
Some wanted to stay; others wanted to explore different options. Avila, who had just made the All-Missouri Valley First Team with averages of 17.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists, took roughly eight hours to think about it, then texted Schertz with a definitive answer. “I said, ‘I’m with you, no matter what,’” explains Avila. “The relationship that we had built — the character, the trust — you can’t find that many places in college basketball, especially in the NIL era.”
Less than a month later, Schertz accepted the job at Saint Louis. Avila entered the portal soon after with a “do not contact” tag, which was largely ignored by high-major coaches. Top programs reached out in an effort to entice Avila with seven-figure NIL offers, significantly more than he stood to make at Saint Louis. But Avila kept his word, officially committing to the Billikens on the day of his visit.
Saint Louis had gone 13-20 (5-13 in the A-10) the previous year, but expectations were sky high with Schertz and Avila joining the mix. While Avila would have to adjust to a bigger, more athletic league, he was still named to the preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team.
Since Schertz was hired several weeks after the portal had opened, he found himself scrambling to assemble a roster. Admittedly, he wasn’t able to construct a team that fully optimized Avila. “He’s the kind of player you have to build around; he’s such a unique player,” says Schertz. “I don’t think we did a great job last year — just because of the circumstances — of putting a roster around him that really helped him.”
Only Avila and 5-foot-10 senior guard Isaiah Swope, another transfer from Indiana State, were familiar with Schertz’s system, so it took time for everyone to get on the same page. That process was further complicated by injuries. After spraining his ankle in September, Avila was sidelined for much of the preseason. He returned for the season opener against Santa Clara but sprained the same ankle late in the second half, which kept him out for three weeks.
Before the new year, four other veterans would go down with injuries and one would leave the program, forcing Schertz to un-redshirt two freshmen and place a massive burden on Avila’s shoulders. Over the final 18 games, Avila averaged nearly 36 minutes per contest, with much of the offense running through him. As a team, Saint Louis ranked dead last in Division I (364th) in bench minutes.
Avila also had to adapt to different defensive schemes. Conference opponents often put physical, athletic guards on him, then switched pick-and-rolls to limit his ability to pop for open three-pointers (he is a career 36.7 percent shooter from behind the arc). Avila struggled at times to handle the increased on-ball pressure, averaging a league-worst 3.3 turnovers per game. “I take that personally,” he says. “Coach Schertz talks about how there was a lot on my plate and there was nothing I could do, but I didn’t play the right way.”
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The dominant narrative was that Avila failed to live up to the hype, as Saint Louis finished 19-15 and was knocked out in the quarterfinals of the A-10 Tournament. But the big man still put up 17.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from three, earning All-Atlantic 10 Second Team honors. “For him to come in, endure the injuries, endure the jump in level, and go get 17.3, 6.9 and 4.0 — that narrative that he really struggled and it was such a disappointment, I think that’s part of how society works,” says Schertz. “They pump you up and set these incredibly high expectations, and if you don’t reach them, then they deflate them. So I think he’s flying a little bit under the radar.”
Heading into the offseason, Schertz felt an enormous obligation to put together the right roster to support Avila. All of the program’s decisions were informed by Avila’s unique game. To space the floor and capitalize on his impressive passing, the staff added more perimeter shooting, including Xavier transfer Trey Green, Northern Illinois transfer Quentin Jones, St. John’s transfer Brady Dunlap and Virginia transfer Ishan Sharma. Playmakers such as Green and Jones will also take away some ball-handling responsibilities from Avila.
Overall, the group is much deeper and more versatile, allowing Schertz to experiment with various lineups centered around his star. He can pair Avila with another big — 6-foot-9 senior forward Paul Otieno, a First Team All-MAAC selection at Quinnipiac, or 6-foot-8 senior forward Kalu Anya — or surround him with four perimeter players. In the A-10’s annual preseason poll, Saint Louis and reigning league champ VCU tied for the most first-place votes (11).
Avila has been working closely with nutritionist Olivia Andriole and performance coach Jake Manzelmann to improve his strength and quickness. “I think this is the best shape he’s been in in the time that I’ve had him,” says Schertz. “You can certainly see the growth there.” Avila’s game has evolved as well, as he has become more adept at attacking guards, operating on the post and dealing with those pick-and-roll switches.
“Moving forward, he’s got a better roster around him,” adds Schertz. “He’s in better physical shape. He’s healthy. He’s had a great offseason. I think for him, less is going to be more. Less minutes, less burden. We’ll be able to play different ways that’ll help him. We can take things off his plate, which I think is going to keep him fresher and more efficient.”
On top of all that, Avila feels more comfortable with a year at Saint Louis — and in the A-10 — under his belt. For the most part, he knows what to expect. He appeared to be settling in as the 2024-25 campaign drew to a close; away from the spotlight, he averaged 21 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists over the Billikens’ final seven regular-season games.
This year, if things go as planned, Cream Abdul-Jabbar could go viral as the talk of March — again.
“We just barely missed the tournament my sophomore year, so the one thing I haven’t done yet is go dancing,” says Avila. “I’m looking forward to this year. Obviously, I want to end it right. We’re reaching for the ultimate goal, which is to not only make the Tournament, but to win games and make a run as well. I think me and the guys on the team all view this the same way. We know that we have the opportunity to do it. We just have to go ahead and seize the moment.”
