What is Tennessee getting in 4-star JP Estrella

Rick Barnes struck gold twice in two weeks First it was earlier this month in four-star Freddie Dilione and today he landed four-star center JP Estrella.

Behind my expert pick and other data accumulated, On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) gave Tennessee a 95.3 percent chance of landing the Wolfeboro (NH) Brewster Academy center. RPM tells us Syracuse sits with a 1.5 percent chance, Marquette with a 1.3 percent chance, and Iowa with a 1.1 percent chance.

Four-star JP Estrella is the No. 16 player in On3’s 2023 rankings. On3 is notably higher on the 6-foot-11 center than the rest of the industry as the other three major recruiting services rankings of him range from 38 to 51.

Let’s talk about why Estrella is so darn interesting as a prospect.

Estrella is a late-bloomer

JP Estrella is a late-blooming big. Circle back to around twelve months ago, and he just picked up his first Division One offer, Syracuse, on August 29. Since that offer, things have taken off, and Estrella picked up over 25 offers.

Estrella first entered South Portland (ME) High as a 6-foot-3 freshman. He continued to grow, splitting his time between junior varsity and varsity. By the time his junior year hit, Estrella was over 6-foot-10, and he averaged 20.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 4.1 blocks en route to his school’s first men’s basketball state championship in 30 years.

This summer, Estrella continued to grow. He now tops the charts at 6-foot-11 with a projectable frame and a long wing span. Is he done growing? Maybe, but possibly not.

All this to say, Estrella has a lot of natural tools. However, there is still some growth that needs to be made to tap into his full upside.

Estrella’s offensive game

Estrella is still coming into his own as a player. Already productive, he continues to show bits and pieces to flash what he could ultimately become.

Estrella is a good vertical athlete. He runs well in straight lines, has excellent hands, and has some sneaky bounce around the basket. This also helps him on the defensive end, which we will touch on later.

Estrella has pick and pop range that comfortably extends out beyond the three-point arc. In 17 attempts during the UAA Next Championships, Estrella shot 35.7 percent from three. Still getting used to being 6-foot-11 and growing into his frame, the shot will need to speed up a bit. However, the touch, balance, and confidence are there.

Estrella is comfortable over his left shoulder on the block. When he posts up on the left block, Synergy tells us he scored 1.33 points per possession on left block post-ups during the UAA Next Circuit. He scored 53.3 percent of the possessions when posted up in this area.

He flashes well without the ball, finding the soft spot on the defense in and around the paint. He is also very effective as a roll man. Where he uses his length, athleticism, and soft hands to finish.

Estrella on defense

The main piece of JP Estrella’s game on this end is his shot-blocking presence. As we mentioned before, his athleticism and length get him natural opportunities around the rim.

He is a strong rebounder, two hands, at the ball’s peak, with toughness.

This side of the ball is where developed strength will help. Estrella is still learning how to be 6-11. He is not awkward by any means, but there is more fluidity to come. He can also be pushed around at times in the paint and knocked off his base. Also, laterally with hedging and sliding can give trouble at this stage. Again, these are all things that will come as he grows into a frame he has only had for 12 to 18 months and may still be growing.

There is upside on this end of the floor, especially as a rim protector and team defender.

Expectations in Knoxville

Rick Barnes has done very well with centers over the years; we’re talking about Myles Tuner, Lamarcus Aldridge, and Tristan Thompson, to name a few. Estrella is not a finished product, and continued development will need to take place.

Looking through Tennessee’s roster, they will not project to need Estrella immediately as Jonas Aidoo and Uros Plavsic will be experienced upperclassmen by that time.

However, there is a toughness and a competitive fire to Estrella. He will spend this year, his senior season, at Wolfeboro (NH) Brewster Academy. He will be going against Penn State’s commit Carey Booth every day in practice, not only sharpening his skills but developing his body.

Rick Barnes has a resume of developing bigs, and Estrella is a blank canvas with a lot of tools. The upside is clear here.

Tennessee’s 2023 class

Four-star CG Freddie Dilione
Three-star PF Cade Phillips

An Estrella commit would make this a solid three-man class for Tennessee. They are content with three, but if four-star SG Davin Cosby (visiting 10/15) wanted to commit, they would take him.