If this question has been posted prior, apologies. Did we seriously recruit Robbie Avila? He looks like the second coming of Cam Krutwig. I really like his game.

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Loyola '86
St. Bona '83

I was a big fan of Avila when we were recruiting him. I even predicted he might turn into a folk hero with his unique game and goofy goggles, as indeed he has.

I wish I had come up with his cool nickname though, "CREAM ABDUL-JABBAR", as mentioned in this recent article, which incidentally does compare Avila to Krut.

https://deadspin.com/robbie-avila-karee ... 1851298896

that was definitely a miss by Loyola. He was there for the taking well into his senior year.

Not sure Avila was a fit for the Ramblers or the A-10....But no doubt he is a high IQ guy with a good offensive skill set...and he may be in the Dance this year. The ISU coach, Josh Schertz has been mentioned as a possible DP candidate.

It was gonna happen but Drew wasn't able to guarantee him immediate playing time. Off to Indiana State.

I have to believe what made things complicated was roster personnel at the time, A10 uncertainties, and our incoming recruiting pipeline..... On the roster at the time was Hutson, and a portal spot eventually went to Golden. And we quickly found neither one was a good match for A10 play. During last year's suckage, I was lamenting this every time an Avila highlight reel came up. Now, I still do, because this is college jokic, but we might be better off. Judging by tv, Avila might be an even slower runner than Hutson.

Also, we tend to forget LUC was after Rubin very early. Center spot for the last 2+ years was destined to be Miles Rubin.

In hindsight, I don't think Avila's game and slow pace is good fit for what LUC is trying to do now and the re-focus on defense and athletic play. However, it would be nice to have a center like this to run an offense thru (Krutwig-like). But on the other end, Avila vs Holmes is not the matchup. I also have not been able to find many defensive highlights of Avila either.

We are OK.

on a tangent...I kind of enjoy the change of pace the offense has taken under Drew...but it is a two edged sword as the turnovers and fouls are up under this type of hectic pace we play at offensively and defensively....The other factor is Drew wanted a rim protector...and he got one in Miles.

The bigger recruit that got away was Ty Johnson. He's playing lights out for UC Davis. He's fast, got a terrific handle and can get to the rim whenever he wants. He's the type of uptempo guard that would have been a great fit on this team. Too bad he didn't stick around. Drew's system would have been a good fit for him.

Ty is part of the reason that their recruiting philosophy is moving away from Freshman,,,,if they dont play they may leave and if they play and are super successful they may leave.....Also the gamble of paying NIL $ to get a player who may or may not pan out....as compared to a known player who has already gained experience......The new rules have really changed things....So far we have navigated the waters...but yep...would have been nice to have Ty around.....but from Ty's perspective would have been stuck behind Norris.

I don't know about TY being stuck behind Norris. As a freshman we had a lot of veteran guys here still. I think if Drew had developed trust with him, he would have gotten minutes. I think Drew would love to give someone else more minutes to keep Braden fresh. I think this is the time of the year you start to worry about Braden's minutes. He looked off a little at SBU earlier in the week. Was it fatigue or just one of those nights? Custer went through it after the Final Four year where teams really went after him and made him work hard. He faded a bit that year. When you play up-tempo and expend the energy we do on defense, you need guys who can come in and play significant minutes.

We might find out of Schertz gets the SLU job!

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