Robbie Avila

Robbie Avila (born September 10, 2003) is an American college basketball player for the Saint Louis Billikens. He previously played for the Indiana State Sycamores of the Missouri Valley Conference.

High school career
Avila attended Oak Forest High School in Oak Forest, Illinois. As a junior, Avila averaged 25.5 points and 11.5 rebounds. In his final season as a senior, he averaged 23.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.1 steals, and two blocks, leading Oak Forest to a 25–8 record and becoming the school's all-time leading scorer.

Recruiting
Avila was ranked as the sixth-best player in the state of Illinois and the 54th best power forward in the country according to 247Sports. He committed to play college basketball at Indiana State University over offers from Appalachian State, Bradley, Loyola Chicago, Richmond, and Southern Illinois.

Indiana State
As a freshman, Avila averaged 10.7 points and four rebounds, being named to the MVC All-Freshman Team. Avila began the next season averaging 16.5 points, 4.2 assists, and 6.6 rebounds through the first ten games of the season, including a 27-point, eight rebound, and eight assist performance against Rice in a 103–88 victory. On January 24, 2024, he was named the conference player of the week after averaging 22 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists across a span of two games. Avila scored a career-high 35 points in an 85–67 win over Evansville on February 28, 2024. He finished his sophomore season averaging 17.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game, helping lead Indiana State to a 32–7 record and an appearance in the NIT final. On April 9, 2024, Avila announced he was entering the transfer portal.

Saint Louis
On April 20, 2024, Avila announced his decision to transfer to Saint Louis, following his former Sycamores head coach Josh Schertz.

Personal life
Due to similarities in the playstyles of Avila and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, Avila has been nicknamed the "College Jokić". He has also been nicknamed "Cream Abdul-Jabbar", after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (bestowed by Kentucky Wildcats talk radio host Matt Jones), "Larry Nerd", "Larry Blurred", "Steph Blurry", “Milk Chamberlain”,and "Rob Wave" by fans, teammates, and users on Twitter, due to wearing protective goggles. Avila is of Mexican descent through his father.