This Man is Taking Over College Basketball

Even though they lost last night, Indiana State has still undoubtedly been one of the best mid major teams in college basketball this season. With a 22-4 record, the Sycamores have a real chance at an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament, but perhaps what has caught most people's attention is Indiana State center Robbie Avila. Nicknamed "College Jokic" and "Rob Wave", Avila has captivated fans across the country thanks to his goggles and playstyle, but make no mistake, Robbie Avila has legit game, as this video will demonstrate.
Twitter: bobbydouglas21
#collegebasketball #marchmadness #indianastate

[@JeffSmith-pl2pj]

With those glasses and the way he moves, He is a hero to us nerds out there.

[@BobbyDouglasBasketball]

He is to nerds what Steph Curry is to small skinny JV players

[@opinionatedopiner]

Function over form 💪

[@andrewlterry]

Larry Nerd

[@challenger516]

but you're a nerd who only play video games in your mom's basement. Dude actually go out and play basketball.

[@JulesGaerlan-nh7ir]

"George Mikan (lakers 50's ) more look-alike ❤

[@BobbyDouglasBasketball]

Great pull!

[@mikemendes7598]

You are showing your age!

[@mbwell]

He’s playing in Bird land bro. He can make his mark during March Madness.

[@AJ-iu6nw]

This guy reminds me of Yao Ming, not Jokic.

[@TheModerateExtremist448]

@@AJ-iu6nwuhhh in what capacity? 😂 are you serious? Did Yao even make a three in his career? I doubt he ever averaged 4 assists per game in his career either lol Yao played like Shaq. This guy plays way more like Jokic than Shaq. Do you even watch basketball?

[@AJ-iu6nw]

lol@@TheModerateExtremist448

[@jonpark6650]

Avila is honoring one of the truly greats at Indiana State.

[@mortystraphouse5077]

@@TheModerateExtremist448 yao played like shaq? u read the dumbest things in comment section omg

[@notsure7899]

Athleticism is awesome, but so is elite skill. Great player, great video.

[@BobbyDouglasBasketball]

Yep. Even the NBA now is really trending towards skill over raw athleticism.

[@cdjhyoung]

@@BobbyDouglasBasketball I wondered why you were calling out a guy with a 15+ppg average as something special. But playing on a starting five with double digit averages explains a lot.

[@mdarrenu]

decision making and dribbling without losing the ball. That is all you need. Few have it.

[@garyaugustus690]

Footwork, footwork ,footwork....

[@brandoncohoon]

I’ve been trying to get into college basketball early this year and make better March Madness brackets and this channel has helped a lot. I really hope you blow up in popularity bro you deserve it

[@BobbyDouglasBasketball]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@user-wd4uf2sm5d]

Really enjoyed this! Thanks for turning us on to Avila and Indiana State. Will be looking forward to seeing them compete, hopefully, in March Madness.

[@NotOneToFly]

He really does have Jokic's game! The only Jokic passes I didn't see from him are the over the head and the behind the back. Does he have somewhat smaller hands? That could make it tough to open up all the of the angles Jokic uses. The misdirection and the post game are all there though! Very impressive stuff from the young buck.

[@xXSprMgaAwsmFxyHtXx]

He’s also only what, 19?

[@xuimod]

For a big man he's an amazing passer. His passing ability while posting up in the paint is crazy.

[@michaelkogut6711]

Also big shoutout for putting in the work to make this video. Assuming you want to do this professionally in some capacity, or this is your side hobby, it’s well done and compact. Takes a lot of time and energy to do this stuff, as well as some balls to put it out there for people to view. Well wishes!

[@btsdancestudio5691]

"The Poor Mans' Joker!" Great video Thanks!

[@h34dbust]

Yes, 'College Jokic' is appropriate.

[@BobbyDouglasBasketball]

Yep tons of similarities!

[@rolandperson53]

Love watching guys with this style of game. Vision, touch, foot work, passer, precision, shot-making, team player and above all skilled. Think the definition of athletic has to take into account all the elements in a given sport not just the obvious ones.

[@TheBaylor22]

Great video! Thanks The kid’s gotta lot of skill. Will only get better by the time he’s a junior, and hopefully, a senior.

[@billcook4768]

Indiana State? Now there’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time. A long time.

[@bigalexg]

it's amazing now some big men are so limited around the basket, it's a dunk or nothing - no touch, no finesse, no fakes, no mobility in the pivot and then you get a guy like this that can make so much out of much less raw physicality.

[@l3ftie578]

It makes it clear why bigs that have both like the dream or Tim Duncan were so dominant and central to their teams’ success

[@bigalexg]

exactly. I guess being huge and athletic is enough to dominate at lower levels and a lot of players coast on that alone, instead of learning to get a good shot off creatively.@@l3ftie578

[@lucianfick2218]

Excellent analysis, Bobby! I get the “Cream Abdul-Jabbar” moniker (it’s inspired and catchy- I’ll give it that), but Avila reminds me of someone else entirely: namely, Minneapolis Laker great, George Mikan who, like Avila, was 6'10", weighed in the neighborhood of 240, and also wore thick, round spectacles on the court,. Mikan's style of play, like Avila's, was also a bit lacking in the gracefulness department, but he would go on to lead his team to the slew of NBA titles in the 50’s.

[@zachw3945]

Love the video! You should take a look at BYU, they have a similar offense through their post some are calling “Egyptian Jokic.” Their guards can also all score from deep and cut well

[@BobbyDouglasBasketball]

Oh I'm familiar with Khalifa he's so fun to watch!

[@cdjhyoung]

MSU fan here. Guess I'll be watching Indiana State too in this tournament. The schools do have a bit of history.

[@BobbyDouglasBasketball]

They played a pretty good game at Breslin earlier this year too!

[@stephen285]

good vid! interesting- the real trick to Joker is how much more dominant he is every year- he get's noticeably better - a rare gift

[@jamestreanor4707]

This is a very impressive analysis

[@dselvy]

Thanks for putting him on my radar. He looks like a polished player.

[@mediamannaman]

Love his confidence. The bounce pass could be used a lot more in both college and the NBA because it is harder to intercept. Avila makes good use of it! How good is he on defense? P.S. Good topic, and well-produced. Keep it up!

[@woody_2245]

nice watching a 'team' play this game n watching the cuts, passing, etc...they make this game look simple n fun to watch lol

[@jonpark6650]

Smart players are always fun to watch. Bill Walton at UCLA was one of my favorites

[@michaelkogut6711]

This guy is awesome haha, what a unique player. Cool to see someone breaking the status quo at a high level, very reminiscent of Joker. Doesn’t strike you as a kid who could make it in the NBA, but neither did Jokic, so fingers crossed. He's gonna need to master his conditioning and maximize whatever strength ceiling he can get to. Clearly isn’t gonna win athletically or defensively at that level, but you can see how he would theoretically fit in the modern NBA game

[@fewpoundcory]

i once saw this guy win a slam layup contest.

[@joeschmoe2011]

He's a fun player to watch. A concern is that in the highlights I didn't see him finish at the rim much. He'll need a bit more reach in the NBA IMO. But good luck to him.

[@billsmith5166]

Are all of these from this year? Fun kid to watch!

[@brettb4693]

Modern George Mikan with glasses

[@JeffSmith-pl2pj]

Also Kirk Rambus.

[@larrywilson3904]

Great Vid!! He sorta reminds of both Ethan Happ and Cameron Krutwig.

[@BobbyDouglasBasketball]

Thanks! And yeah the Krutwig comps I certainly see.

[@jamespohl-md2eq]

Happ wasn’t anywhere near the passer. And jump shot or 3 ball, never.

[@youngdexter4516]

I live in Terre Haute he showed flashes his freshman yr but he's put it all togrther in yr 2. My favorite player fasho

[@bigfootindeal1525]

Great vid. It's too bad Indiana St. didn't make the tourney. Maybe next year

[@kanagawa85]

Him and Enrique from Akron been beastin

[@ronaldrussell5481]

Been a long time since an Indiana State player received rave notices! "Well now everybody's heard about the Bird, Bird, Bird, Bird, Bird is the word!"

[@mikel6237]

Would love to see this guy in the NBA!

[@chetisanhart3457]

Larry Nerd. Love his game.

[@Coral_2]

Unique player. I don’t know if he has much NBA potential but very fun college player

[@ThePoisonMist]

man, I really try to avoid hype trains, but I absolutely love the way this kid plays basketball.

[@pauldack5129]

This kid is going to be a nice pro. Like Nic Batum..

[@michaelsturdevant9196]

Beautiful low-post passes

[@Mitch_Feral]

He's got good feet, and great hips; kid's built like a refrigerator, but he moves really well in space, and there's almost no hitch when he's changing direction. That's a tough combo with his passing.

[@timothymiller1783]

Those glasses haven't hurt his peripheral vision. Remember another great passer that played for ISU? 🐦 🐦‍⬛ 🦜

[@PlanetJigobotTV]

Dudes highlights do look like the Joker😂. I wish him well at the next level and hope he ends up in the perfect system.

[@JakboKart]

do you think you could talk about Thad Matta and what he's done at Butler this past year?

[@BobbyDouglasBasketball]

Love Thad and Butler! Too bad they've lost their last two games. We'll see if I can squeeze something Butler-related in!

[@bakunawa-wu2zh]

I love to see him in the NBA.

[@Dcain2]

Love watching super skilled players like this. He will need to work on his defense in order to get a shot at the NBA

[@abelincoln6785]

Insane IQ

[@charlesj2555]

I'm really rooting for a Cinderella run with this team in the NCAAT so I can see this kid give a P5 team a hard time on the big stage. They have a legitimate shot at winning their conference to make it as an autobid.

[@chidoquest8759]

I seem to remember another big, white, Indiana State Player some years ago that ruled the court with his precision passes and long range shooting. History does have a way rhyming.

[@jeffkilgore6320]

Indiana State, huh? Will be cheering for him.

[@simplifiedlife8607]

Great passer and shooter. It helps him that carrying the ball is now legal, he picks the ball up from the bottom on his post up/back down moves, making it impossible to defend. Plus, now it's legal to bang into the defender and push him down to the paint, not allowing the defender to maintain the position he's entitled to. If the defender did that to the ball handler, it would be a foul every time. Basketball has changed for the worse.

[@GPW787]

What happened to the "carrying the ball" infraction?

[@ClapYaHandsEverybody]

Dude they better get a bid in the tournament we need to watch him play in it lol

[@Playsinvain]

You tube check of indiana state highlights….and there is one game from two months ago 😢

[@hypatiatv421]

This guy is basketzball scientist.

[@JigsawBell-rx9yb]

First Sengun and now him.

[@jonathanmillner]

Cream Abdul-Jabbar! Get it straight! Best nickname ever....

[@kevinanderson967]

It’s those hands🏀

[@carlitomorales8873]

Now he just needs to find his College Gordon

[@atmtc]

Even the stroke looks MarcGasolian to me!

[@leroyjenkins472]

What a cool story! I hope that team can stick together at Indiana State and not just transfer and split off to other teams like Oral Roberts

[@BobbyDouglasBasketball]

Yeah could be fun to see how this team grows. I think Schertz is gone after this year though.

[@icetablebo2bo321]

bro this dude went to my middle school in oak forest hes a baller fr

[@RaysDad]

High post center with Kurt Rambis glasses.

[@sandorfintor]

brilliant passer!!!

[@jameshampton9809]

carries the ball

[@hillbilly21960]

Guys like this probably don’t get hurt as often and as a grizzlies fan that’s a good thing. His passing iq is insane

[@shedflips]

True and as he gets older he won’t even lose a step, he never had one

[@kevinlewis8137]

I love it! A thicker, nerdier, less athletic😳Larry Bird. 😂

[@ksrithan]

His decisions are unpredictable and efficient.

[@stonewalljackson7590]

I hope that Avila and his team gets a chance to play against Houston or UConn.

[@viaromabandit5051]

“Steph Blurry” hoopin’

[@GeoAce777]

From Five Out Offense to First Four Out! 😄🤓 seriously however I would like to see the Sycamores win the MVC with an Automatic Bid ;-)

[@BobbyDouglasBasketball]

Yeah I don't think they've won since I posted this video lol. Hopefully they get right tonight at Valpo

[@raijinrasetsuii8820]

definitely could pass for as the grandson of the late George Mikan

[@radhi8063]

Yeahhh, I live to see the age of the nerds... We are going to take it over!! Brain over muscle!

[@Docsamadhi]

I'm a nuggets fan and watch every game. That kid plays just like Jokic. It's scary similar.

[@jacobcrist7982]

And the crazy thing is so far he’s way behind the best player in Indians State history

[@BobbyDouglasBasketball]

Yeah can't imagine anyone is touching Bird hahaha

[@jacobcrist7982]

@@BobbyDouglasBasketball yeah based on both college and NBA

[@jamespohl-md2eq]

Behind the 2nd best as well. Who played w the best.

[@drecool6976]

A real baskeball players , Basketball player.

[@behmja]

I love this style of team ball. The way it should be played. Definitely plays like Jokic, but his long shot is from in front of his face, with not much arc. In the pro's this would be more easily blocke

[@3louminati]

You say he never moves too fast. I agree but I’m not sure Avila can actually move fast!

[@BobbyDouglasBasketball]

Hahaha good point!

[@fredact]

If Indiana St is in their bracket, mosst everyone under 40 is going to be like "has Indiana St, ever been in the tournament before?"

[@dayalcober89]

The Buddy Holly of basketball.

[@gogee5]

LFG SYCAMORES! Wheres my trees at bay bee

[@hypatiatv421]

This guy lčooks like some basketball scientist or intelecutal. There is no room for doubt, this guy is a basketball genius and his style of play strongly resembles Jokić

[@Syrin23]

Is he predicted to be taken in the NBA draft? What do the NBA scouts think? I have to wonder how well he would do against athletic guys his size. He is not playing against NBA level bigs. His passing is for sure pro level without a doubt, but is that enough

[@branrx]

It’s obvious this guy follows The Joker. His pace, his moves, everything

[@mohamedabdourahman9845]

Does he declare for fhe draft?

[@user-ek2uz1fc6u]

All they need is to bring back Bird, done deal national champs

[@BobbyDouglasBasketball]

Easy money

[@donhoag1052]

First of all because of the way they changed the RULES he’s getting away with mad Carries. Especially on his post up back down. Second of all he plays like a human Bowling 🎳 Ball. Thirdly he becomes a human Magnet with his slow deliberate style & great skill set. Right now perfect NBA prospect.

[@atomsk1972]

I hope he can make a career out of it. Basketball needs more 'hard to classify' players like Jokic and Sengun.

[@Shinobi33]

I don't know if the NBA is in his future but he can definitely play pro ball somewhere

[@rogerhuston8287]

How is his defense? It wasn't mentioned.

[@jackmakackov7077]

His best nickname is Cream Abdoul Jabbar

[@YankeeVatnik1917]

be a great back up center for the nuggets in fact the perfect

[@softwaresignals]

Jokic does have a higher 3pt shot release point. Avila needs to hit the weight room a little, and then transition to a higher release point for the NBA, if he goes that career route.

[@glennlanham6309]

the kid's passing is reminiscent of another Indiana State player...

[@tylu6337]

Bird?

[@nadavegan]

Larry Nerd!

[@Nutspittle]

Larry Bird is probably Alma proud!

[@johnprentice1527]

The Jokic comparison is uncanny: passing, footwork, and threes.

[@StevenEvens7125]

It must be maddening playing against this cat😂😂😂

[@BobbyDouglasBasketball]

I'd hate dealing with him lol

[@StevenEvens7125]

@@BobbyDouglasBasketball you think he gets drafted? I swear I'd take him

[@nonsonoenrico]

@@StevenEvens7125this guy would do damage on some teams like the warriors or okc second unit which is full of shooters

[@trevorwiliams8324]

He one of those frustrating players, when you are asking yourself questions going back to the bench "How do I stop this guy?"

[@badwrong6362]

​@@StevenEvens7125 depends on his height

[@ibjames]

He's now Cream Abdul Jabbar!!!! Long live CREAM

[@cobaltss50]

So modernized Larry bird 🐦