ST. LOUIS — Fans will have a plethora of nicknames from which to choose next season, but the most important factor for Saint Louis University men's basketball coach Josh Schertz is that Robbie Avila will have his last name on an SLU uniform.

The 6-foot-10 rising junior committed to SLU on his campus visit after soaring in prominence at Indiana State and leading the Sycamores to the National Invitation Tournament championship game.

The relationship between Avila and Schertz was on display throughout the season and cemented the decision, Avila said Saturday before leaving St. Louis.

“I believed in him when he recruited me to Indiana State and it went well there, so I didn’t see a reason to change it up,” Avila said. “I was convinced from the beginning to follow him here. The biggest thing that draws me to him is he’s up front and honest and we’ve had a good deal the last few years.”

Known for wearing goggles when he plays, Avila finished as runner-up in the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year voting his sophomore season that saw him average 17.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists.

Along the way, he was tagged as “Cream Abdul-Jabbar,” “Larry Nerd” and “Steph Blurry,” to name a few of the monikers he picked up. He is arguably the most prestigious recruiting pickup for SLU since Larry Hughes arrived as a freshman. Avila has two years of eligibility remaining.

It was thought Avila could go to most any program he wanted, but his relationship with Schertz and success in his offense were strong lures. He had entered the transfer portal with a “do not contact” designation, marking the first signal he would choose SLU.

SLU does not have the name, image and likeness resources of power conference schools, and it is believed that Avila had to surrender a much bigger payout than he could have commanded elsewhere.

“NIL is a big deal and you could possibly get more at a power five school,” Avila said. “But there’s more to it than NIL that me and others realize. Being able to check boxes outside of the money is what Schertz does for me. St. Louis is a big city, and I think I’ll be able to use my player profile to get in the city and maybe make more than I could at another school.”

Avila is working with his agent on an eyewear sponsorship, and he said a deal likely will be in place before next season.

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.”

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