Robbie Avila is the Big Man that IUBB Needs

Cult hero Robbie Avila has entered the transfer portal, and there is no denying how important he could be to the Indiana Hoosiers were he to choose Bloomington as his next home.

The news of Avila's impending migration comes after a monster sophomore season in which he led the Sycamores to the NIT championship game after being blatantly snubbed from the NCAA tournament. In his 37 games this season (all starts), the 6'10", 240 pound bruiser averaged 31.2 MPG, 17.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 4.1 APG, 0.6 BPG, and 0.7 SPG on impressive shooting splits of 53.6% FG/39.4% 3/80.8% FT. He immediately becomes one of the most sought after free agents in the portal.

Some may snicker at the initial sight of Avila on the court, but his game is nothing to laugh about. Plus, the goggles (which some may giggle at) are clearly working as evidenced by his insanely gifted passing ability. His connection rate from downtown is yet another bullet point on the list of areas of the game enhanced by his glasses, and it is not as if he is chucking up shots here and there (39.4% from deep on 4.2 attempts per game).

Perhaps he may not possess the rim protection prowess that many hope for in a modern big man, but his versatile skillset and basketball IQ more than offsets what he lacks in the department of paint patrolling. His size does eat up a lot of space down low, and opponents venturing into his territory down low in the trenches have to at least consider the best way to get around/through him on their runs to the rim.

There is no telling exactly where the big man will land, but one thing that we do know is that Mike Woodson's Indiana Hoosiers are in dire need of a quality big man as he works to fill out the remainder of the depth chart for what is undoubtedly going to be a much different 2024-2025 IUBB squad. Another thing that we know is that Terre Haute (where Indiana State University is located) is only about an hour from Bloomington.

We all know how much of a hassle it is to move long distance, so why not make it easy on yourself, Cream Abdul Jabbar?

Not only would Avila's size be a major boost on the boards plus in the paint for a team currently without a true center, but his ability to stretch the floor would be huge. None of Trey Galloway, Malik Reneau and/or Bryson Tucker are notorious marksmen. Mackenzie Mgbako, Gabe Cupps, Anthony Leal, and Jakai Newton (to an extent) will surely help in that area, but there is no doubt that this team is going to need more shooters. That much is especially obvious after the sloppy shooting season IUBB put together in 2024-2025.

Beyond his skillset, Avila has developed the reputation of a competitor. He is someone who clearly does not enjoy losing:

Robbie Avila is not a superhero, but his arrival would be something in the ballpark of miraculous for the Indiana University men's basketball program. And seeing what Mike Woodson has done with the last two great big men he has coached at IU (Trayce Jackson-Davis and Kel'el Ware), transferring to B-Town could be a win-win for both parties.

OUR FINGERS ARE CROSSED ON THIS ONE!