For one afternoon in late December, the role of Santa Claus was played by a 6-foot-10, 20-year-old young man who didn’t fly in from the North Pole, but drove in from Terre Haute, Indiana.
Oak Forest High School alum Robbie Avila, who is making a name for himself playing basketball at Indiana State University, stopped by his old stomping grounds the week before Christmas and gifted 20 pairs of Nike Giannis Immortality 3.5 basketball shoes to Bengals players and coaches.
He presented the shoes in a conference room near the school’s cafeteria and the Bengals players cheered and applauded when they realized they were getting some pretty spiffy early holiday presents.
In recent years, college players have been allowed to earn Name, Image and Likeness money, and Avila used some of his to give back.
“My teammate last year, Cooper Neese, did a similar thing for his high school,” Avila said. “So, I took that idea and with this being Christmastime and the season of giving, I was using the opportunity to give back to them.
“They are a good pair of shoes and I hope they enjoy them.”
Early indications are that the Bengals will.
Senior guard Deshawn Nolan was not willing to wait to try his new kicks on. They went swiftly from the box to his feet.
“They feel good — they feel really comfortable,” Nolan said. “I’ll definitely use them to play.
“This means a lot. It really shows a lot about Robbie’s character. It made me feel real good and I’m sure it makes him feel good giving back to the program. It’s always good to see when someone gives back to where they came from.”
Avila broke into college basketball last season at the Terre Haute school by averaging 10.7 points per game and being named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team.
This season, the Sycamores opened the season 11-1 and Avila is a big reason for that. He’s averaged 16.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in that stretch.
Avila is not the only former Bengal turning Indiana State into a power. Junior guard/forward Jayson Kent is averaging 12.9 points per game after playing two years at Bradley before transferring to Indiana State last season.
Nolan played on the 2021-22 Oak Forest varsity team as a sophomore and witnessed Avila’s final year as the big man went on to lead the program in career points.
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“Honestly, I feel like everyone knew the potential and saw something in him,” Nolan said of Avila. “But seeing it firsthand — there is tremendous growth.”
Avila is a hit on and off the court in Terre Haute.
Aside from his height, Avila wears goggles when he plays and that sets him apart from most players.
In late January, then-sixth grader Jacob Hein attended a Sycamore game dressed up like Avila, which picked up local media attention. Hein was a spitting image of Avila.
“He also wears goggles when he plays,” Avila said of Hein. “He made some fake tattoos of the one I have, and he was able to dress up like me. It was pretty awesome to see something like that.
“It’s not something I would have thought of two years ago. It makes me feel like I’m doing something right and being an inspiration to those kids of that generation and I want to keep doing more for them.”
Avila tries to be a presence in his new community and attends high school and grade school games in the area. He also tries to do some charity work there as well.
“I’ve lived in Oak Forest all my life and moving to new community can give you the scares,” Avila said. “But they took me in. They were as open and welcoming as any community can be.”
Oak Forest athletic director Matt Manzke, who was Avila’s coach during his time with the Bengals, is not surprised that Avila is a hit at his new home. And he appreciated Aliva’s gifts to the team.
“This is amazing, and I would have never thought we would ever have anything like this,” Manzke said. “But I met Robbie in fifth grade, and he’s always been a special kid. He wants to do something like this because he has always put other people in front of himself.
“He’s always been an unselfish person.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.