Rick Barnes: JP Estrella's injury status is day-to-day while Tennessee finds 'a different plan'

The foot injury that sidelined Tennessee sophomore center JP Estrella remains a “day-to-day” issue, according to Rick Barnes. The next move, according to the head coach, is for the Vols to come up with another plan to deal with the issue.

It’s the same foot injury that sidelined Estrella during the offseason and part of the preseason while Tennessee’s coaches and training staff took extra precautions in hopes of avoiding surgery.

“It is day to day and it the same injury that he has dealt with,” Barnes said Sunday afternoon. “But again we are day to day until we can figure out a plan — a different plan, obviously. It is just day to day right now.”

“It’s day to day,” Barnes said Sunday afternoon. “It is the same injury that he’s dealt with … I’m sure we can figure out a plan, different plan, obviously. But it’s just day to day.” 

Tennessee beat Austin Peay 103-68 on Sunday afternoon to improve to 4-0 to start the season. The Vols are now off until Thursday night, when they face Virginia (3-0) in the Baha Mar Championship in the Bahamas. The Vols will face either No. 12 Baylor and No. 22 St. John’s on Friday.

Estrella, the 6-foot-11, 241-pounder from Scarborough, Maine, is averaging 4.7 points and 2.7 points rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game. 

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. 

Rick Barnes on JP Estrella’s injury: ‘It is concerning. We know he wants to play.’

Estrella was a four-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, ranked No. 59 nationally in the On3 Industry Ranking. He was the No. 8 center in the country and the No. 4 player in New Hampshire, where he attended Brewster Academy.

He had eight points and a rebound in nine minutes against Montana on Wednesday night. He 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.

Estrella didn’t play during Tennessee’s exhibition loss against Indiana in Knoxville on October 27. 

“It is concerning,” Barnes said of Estrella’s foot injury still being a problem. “We know he wants to play. We know he has done everything he can do. I think the plan we had for him to start was the right plan. Again, they are day to day evaluating that to figure out now where do we go.”

Tennessee added two new forwards in NCAA Transfer Portal

Tennessee overhauled its frontcourt during the offseason, bringing in 6-foot-11 center Felix Okpara from Ohio State and 6-foot-10 stretch forward Igor Milicic from Charlotte. Milicic had 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes on Sunday, just days removed from an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double in Tennessee’s win over Montana on Wednesday.

Without Estrella on Sunday, Okpara had 12 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Cade Phillips had career highs with 13 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.

“We need Cade,” Barnes said. “I thought, again, for the most part other than when Cade gets in a little bit, he gets a little too relaxed and turns the ball over. The fact is, he has the ability. He can do a lot of things. The more he can play out there, the better he is going to be.

“I thought Shack (Jahmai Mashack) today, we moved him in there some to play a little bit to play with basically four guards, which gives us that versatility to do that. There are times they had five guards on the court. Cade, we have got a lot of belief in him.”