Robbie Avila cleared to play, but how much can he do for St. Louis on short notice?

Tom Timmermann, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Nov 5, 2026

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ST. LOUIS — Robbie Avila’s return to the St. Louis University roster on Thursday, just in time for its big game against Missouri at Enterprise Center, raises many questions, two of the most immediate being: How much can he play, and what number will he wear?

The number is an issue because Avila has worn No. 21 throughout his career — it’s part of his brand — but that number was given to incoming freshman Yousaf Ahmad, who wore it Monday in SLU’s season opener.

Uniforms are made in advance, and it can take a while to get new ones. And it’s not simply a matter of taking one of Ahmad’s jerseys and slapping Avila’s name on the back. Ahmad is 6-foot-6, 185 pounds. Avila was listed last season as 6-10, 240 pounds.

“I don’t think Robbie would fit in Robbie’s jersey from last season,” said SLU coach Josh Schertz. “We’re going to have to work that out. I would assume Rob will get 21 and Yousaf will get something that’s not 21. I think we’ll change the numbers out and figure out what Yousaf wants to wear. I think Rob has worn it for a long time and has to get that one back, unfortunately for Yousaf, at least for this year.”

But it may take some time, and it's possible Avila could wear another jersey in the meantime.

The other number for Avila is equally tricky. He hasn’t played a competitive game since summer league ball in July, and while he’s been practicing with the team, he hasn’t done anything at full speed. It’s not that he’s in bad shape, it's just that everyone on the court for both teams on Friday will be in better shape.

Schertz acknowledged the oddity of playing someone whose practice with the team on Thursday, essentially a walk-through at Enterprise Center, was his first of the season. The number of minutes Avila could play figures to be low.

“I’ve never played a guy with as little practice as Robbie would get,” Schertz said. “I think you’ve got to be very careful in these situations. He’s practiced with the scout team; we didn’t want to do a lot of live stuff with our guys until we knew the situation. So we’ve been careful to work him back in. I don’t generally approach things from a short-sighted view. I’ll continue to try to approach it with a long-term lens.

“Robbie’s different because he understands everything. His greatness has never been his conditioning or his athleticism. So the things that make him him are still there, but certainly we’ve got to be careful with him and not put him in any kind of harm’s way.”

On Thursday, a few hours after a judge granted him a fifth year of eligibility and gave SLU the extra roster spot needed for him to use it, Avila was on the court at Enterprise, not wearing the colored jersey of the scout team but a regular SLU practice jersey along with last season's shorts. But practice on the day before a game generally moves at a slower pace than practices earlier in the week.

“He’ll have a jersey on and be available, Schertz said. “The game flow and we’ll see how he looks in practice today … I think there’s a lot of things to take into account. … He has to work his way back. There’s a conditioning piece, there’s a timing piece. As good as he is, he’s still got to get those things.”

Kellen Thames said he thought the insertion of Avila into the roster would go smoothly.

“I think he’ll fit in perfectly,” he said. “We played a whole year together, so it wouldn’t be any difference. He knows the system better than anybody, and he can play with anybody. So I feel he’ll fit in like a glove if he does play.

“(His fitness) is getting better every single time he’s out here. You can tell he’s getting back into shape, especially last practice. He looks really good. He’s been working out, and I’m seeing the improvements every single day he’s out here.”

But as well as Avila knows the system on offense, playing defense will be the trickier part. Against Missouri, he’ll be up against tall, mobile players who are a challenge for even in-shape players to cover. If the tempo of the game picks up, it could be tough for Avila to keep up with his limited practice time.

Schertz will probably have to pick and choose wisely his opportunities to give Avila into games, and there may be more chances against an opponent like SLU’s next one, Northern Kentucky, than there will be against Missouri.