Robbie Avila and Isaiah Swope commit to St. Louis

[bradleyfan124]

$1 per flop.

Lol!!

[yoda]

if you google Enright and check all the photos on the internet, you'll see that he seems to spend a whole lot
of time doing this - the guy's gonna dislocate his mandible some day

[Da Coach]

All the early predictions were that he'd go straight to Saint Louis & follow his coach, but no confirmation yet.
But Saint Louis cannot possibly tempt Avila with the kind of money/NIL that some other schools can.
Just Google or do a Twitter search & Avila is already linked to several top schools, some of which have the potential
to throw $1 million or more NIL money at desirable players....

The top rated player in the portal was Oumar Ballo of Arizona, a skilled 7-footer.
He just committed to Indiana. - https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/sta...01279417237713
College basketball writer Jeff Goodman reports that the asking price in NIL money for Ballo was $1.2 million, though he might have gotten a little less at Indiana - https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/sta...20410065645909

Indiana now ranked the #2 team in landing portal transfers - https://247sports.com/Season/2024-Ba...rTeamRankings/

[Da Coach]

The top rated player in the portal was Oumar Ballo of Arizona, a skilled 7-footer.
He just committed to Indiana. - https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/sta...01279417237713
College basketball writer Jeff Goodman reports that the asking price in NIL money for Ballo was $1.2 million, though he might have gotten a little less at Indiana - https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/sta...20410065645909

Indiana now ranked the #2 team in landing portal transfers - https://247sports.com/Season/2024-Ba...rTeamRankings/

This is how crazy the NIL/portal connection has become... When Indiana fans heard they could land Oumar Ballo, they were sending direct cash transfers to him through Venmo. Apparently it worked. He committed to Indiana a couple hours ago. - https://twitter.com/CBBcontent/statu...87499270545516

[Stryker]

This is how crazy the NIL/portal connection has become... When Indiana fans heard they could land Oumar Ballo, they were sending direct cash transfers to him through Venmo. Apparently it worked. He committed to Indiana a couple hours ago. - https://twitter.com/CBBcontent/statu...87499270545516

Yeah this has become a true circus. HOTB should set up live venmo donations from fans, when we get posts about a recruit possibly interested we can all throw money in lol.

[yoda]

....
I think the best bet is still SLU .....

Avila resists the temptation to go just for the bigger payday and indeed, is transferring to Saint Louis.

[tomahawk chop]

Who really cares on this board where he goes because I could give a s--t.

[64NIT]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39983192/ex-indiana-state-star-robbie-avila-follows-coach-saint-louis

[Da Coach]

Isaiah Swope announced a few minutes ago that he will also transfer to St. Louis - https://twitter.com/IjSwope/status/1782429198621016239
Now all 5 of Indiana State's starters, plus several of their reserves, have transferred.

[Tommy]

I think Schertz is going to do well in St. Louis, but without Kent, I don't think they're going to dominate the A10. Kent was the catalyst for everything they did and that will be a big hole. Will be really interesting to see how they perform, but I'll be rooting for them.

[Da Coach]

I think Schertz is going to do well in St. Louis, but without Kent, I don't think they're going to dominate the A10. Kent was the catalyst for everything they did and that will be a big hole. Will be really interesting to see how they perform, but I'll be rooting for them.

They also won't have the two best outside shooters from Indiana State in Ryan Conwell and Julian Larry. Plus Conwell, Larry and Kent were the best defenders.
And most of St. Louis' previous production transferred out after Travis Ford was fired. So Schertz pretty much just has Avila, Swope, incoming freshman Amari McCottry, and a couple walk-ons.
Roster grid - https://verbalcommits.com/schools/saint-louis (the green arrows are the players who transferred out)

[patrick_o'brian]

Schertz is a freak though. You have to give him credit. They’ll give him this year, but by year 2 he’ll have that roster stacked.

[houstonbrave]

Gibson Jimmerson originally went in portal but decided to return-he is a good player for SLU

[Da Coach]

Schertz is a freak though. You have to give him credit. They’ll give him this year, but by year 2 he’ll have that roster stacked.

I agree with you. What he did at Indiana State was remarkable and I think he will eventually be successful at St. Louis.
But was it genius recruiting and coaching at Indiana State? Or was it a little bit of luck? He couldn't have known guys like Swope, Conwell, and Kent who not distinguished themselves at the D1 level before coming to Indiana State, would suddenly blossom into All-Conference stars. Or that Julian Larry would more than double his career scoring average and boost his 3-point FG percentage from 27% to 46%. Or that Avila would nearly double his scoring average and become an All-American candidate.
His coaching had a lot to do with it, but can he repeat it at St. Louis?
Gimerson is saying he will return for a 6th season, though he might need some kind of NCAA waiver to qualify.
But even if he does, with the players who have exhausted eligibility or transferred out, that still only gives them 4 scholarship players returning for the 2024-25 roster, plus whatever portal transfers or incoming freshman class he can get.
And Gimerson, will be gone after this season

[Tommy]

I agree with you. What he did at Indiana State was remarkable and I think he will eventually be successful at St. Louis.
But was it genius recruiting and coaching at Indiana State? Or was it a little bit of luck? He couldn't have known guys like Swope, Conwell, and Kent who not distinguished themselves at the D1 level before coming to Indiana State, would suddenly blossom into All-Conference stars. Or that Julian Larry would more than double his career scoring average and boost his 3-point FG percentage from 27% to 46%. Or that Avila would nearly double his scoring average and become an All-American candidate.
His coaching had a lot to do with it, but can he repeat it at St. Louis?
Gimerson is saying he will return for a 6th season, though he might need some kind of NCAA waiver to qualify.
But even if he does, with the players who have exhausted eligibility or transferred out, that still only gives them 4 scholarship players returning for the 2024-25 roster, plus whatever portal transfers or incoming freshman class he can get.
And Gimerson, will be gone after this season

I agree with all of that except Swope. Schertz (paraphrasing) said in the past that he remembered getting torched by Swope when he coached at his previous job in D2 and wanted to get him to ISU Blue because he knew what he could do. Now Kent was probably just the luck of having one of his past teammates on the team already, and I'm sure Avila put in a good word for him. Kent was the catalyst for them all year in my humble opinion.