Tennessee Basketball's JP Estrella to undergo foot surgery, out for the season
Tennessee sophomore center J.P. Estrella will undergo surgery on his injured left foot and is out for the season. Estrella announced the news on social media on Monday.
Estrella had missed Tennessee’s last three games due the lingering foot injury, which dated back to the summer and sidelined Estrella for parts of the offseason and preseason.
“We feel badly for J.P. that he won’t be able to compete alongside his teammates this season,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said in a press release. “In addition to being a talented player, he is such a positive and energetic person.
“It is for that reason we know he will still make an impact, even if it’s not on the court. We’ll do all we can to aid J.P. throughout his rehabilitation and we are excited for what his future holds here at Tennessee.”
Tennessee, which entered the season with 11 scholarship players out of a possible 13, has been hit hard by injuries early on. Sophomore wing Cam Carr is out 4-6 weeks after suffering a thumb injury last Sunday in the win over Austin Peay.
JP Estrella averaged 4.7 points, 2.7 rebounds three games this season
Estrella, the 6-foot-11, 241-pounder from Scarborough, Maine, averaged 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game in three games played this season.
He averaged 5.0 minutes off the bench while playing in 25 games as a freshman last season. He averaged 1.6 points and 0.8 rebounds per game while shooting 71.4% from the floor.
Estrella had eight points and a rebound in nine minutes against Montana and played 10 minutes in the win at Louisville, scoring two points and grabbing five rebounds. He had four points and two rebounds in 11 minutes in the season-opening win over Gardner-Webb on November 4.
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Estrella didn’t play during Tennessee’s exhibition loss against Indiana in Knoxville on October 27.
Tennessee overhauled its front court during the offseason
Tennessee overhauled its front court during the spring, after losing starting center Jonas Aidoo and power forward Tobe Awaka to the NCAA Transfer Portal.
The Vols added former Ohio State center Felix Okpara and Charlotte stretch forward Igor Milicic out of the portal to offset the losses. Milicic is averaging 13.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while shooting 64.6% from the field. Okpara is averaging 7.3 points and 58 rebounds to go with a team-high 10 blocks.
Sophomore Cade Phillips has also had an increased workload with Estrella sidelined, scoring a carer-high 13 points and grabbing nine rebounds in 19 minutes against Austin Peay last Sunday and added 11 points and four boards against Baylor Friday night.
Darlinstone Dubar, the 6-6, 200-pound Hofstra transfer wing, also made his return in the Baha Mar Championship after missing the first four games due to a personal matter.
Barnes first referenced the foot injury for Estrella back in September, saying at the time that the Vols were taking precautions in hopes of avoiding surgery.
“We have to make sure he is totally healthy before we bring him back because it is an area you can’t mess around with,” Barnes said at the time. “It can turn into really a situation you don’t want it to. We are just going to make sure he is fully healthy before we get him back out there going full speed.”
