ST. LOUIS — Robbie Avila took his seat, just to the right of Indiana State coach Josh Schertz. Indiana State’s star, the man the Sycamores look to inside and out, had another standout performance.
There hasn’t been much that’s gone unsaid about the sophomore forward. His 21 points, many of which came as the game had just started, paced an Indiana State team that had four players reach double figures. The Sycamores are a wagon, yes, but the man pulling the reins is Avila.
So Avila took his seat next to his coach, together as two of the men who have captured the nation’s attention this season, after beating Northern Iowa 94-72 to advance to play Drake in the Missouri Valley Tournament championship game.
“After I made the first one, I started to feel more confident,” Avila said. “Then the second one came down, I started to feel it a little bit. It was great to get off to a hot start like that, and I think I really needed it to push this game.”
Everything written about Avila is true. He’s not the most athletic. He doesn’t have the typical build of a college basketball player. People poke fun — ‘Larry Nerd,’ ’College Jokic,’ Larry Blurred’ — and he plays along. He and his teammates did a press conference together in which each of them wore his signature goggles.
But that oversimplifies Avila and the dominant presence he brings. The Missouri Valley knows it, and Northern Iowa saw everything he brought Saturday. His footwork is elite. His shooting is effortless. He plays in the post and hits shots from outside. Avila’s rebounding is impressive but his passing ability is arguably better.
“He causes a lot of problems defensively, so you have to try to switch up what you’re doing,” Panthers forward Jacob Hutson said. “He makes it very difficult for teams to prep against, especially in such a short turnaround.”
“The skillset at that position is challenging,” UNI head coach Ben Jacobson said. “He played a great game.”
Schertz joked about how “high maintenance” Avila is, but his impact on the program is tangible. He’s not the lone reason, far from it, but the Sycamores and their five-out offense are in the midst of their best season since 1979 and he’s no small part of that.
Of course, Ryan Conwell, Isaiah Swope, Julian Larry, Jayson Kent and the rest have been equally impressive at times. But the people call for Avila, and he constantly answers.
“I think being able to use my versatility on…
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