Robbie Avila, aka 'Cream Abdul-Jabbar,' will transfer to Saint Louis to join Josh Schertz

He was in St. Louis from Thursday night through Saturday morning and returned to his home near Chicago to announce his decision on the Field of 68 online show.

Schertz cannot comment on players until they have signed with the university. Guard Gibson Jimerson said he has been analyzing Avila’s tendencies in anticipation of playing with him.

“I’ve watched some of his stuff really recently because I wanted to see the way he plays,” Jimerson said. “You can tell he’s worked on the mental part of the game. He processes at a high level. He’s almost like (Nikola) Jokic in that he’s patient. He can score in the post, but the fact he can pass and shoot (outside) makes him so hard to guard. We haven’t had a big like that here who can make those passes, see the court and just read everything.”

Schertz runs his offense through his big man, and Avila blossomed in that system in 2023-24 as a versatile center who is adept as a 3-point shooter and passer.

Rivals.com listed Avila as the top power forward in the transfer portal. The Athletic rated him the No. 3 overall transfer.

Avila said SLU’s new coaches had “bragged” to him about the quality of the facilities, and he was pleased to find in recent days that they lived up to his expectations.

“Everything was beautiful,” he said. “The campus was amazing, seeing the fountains and the green all around. Going around the facilities and see how everything is close to each other with the apartments across the street with everything right there.”

The hope of landing all of Indiana State’s starters was dashed last weekend when point guard Julian Larry and forward Jayson Kent committed to Texas during a campus visit. Ryan Conwell, the fifth Sycamores’ starter, committed to Xavier on Friday.

Also Saturday, Amari McCottry signed with SLU, becoming the second high school player to do so. McCottry led St. Thomas More to a Wisconsin state championship with a 29-1 record. He averaged 22.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists as a senior.

“We have recruited Amari for the last year and he’s a young man with a limitless ceiling,” Schertz said in a statement. “His size, skill and explosiveness are all at the very highest level, and on top of that he is a fantastic teammate. We could not be more excited to have the opportunity to coach Amari and work together to maximize his potential.”