Tennessee center JP Estrella out Sunday vs. Austin Peay
Tennessee Basketball will be shorthanded Sunday afternoon against Austin Peay, with sophomore center JP Estrella out with a left foot injury. Estrella, who is considered day-to-day, missed time during the summer and into the fall with the foot issue.
Tennessee (3-0) and Austin Peay (3-0) are scheduled for a 3 p.m. Eastern Time start at Food City Center. The game can be streamed on SEC Network+.
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.
JP Estrella as a recruit: 4-star PF, ranked No. 59 overall
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.
Head coach Rick Barnes first disclosed the foot issue for Estrella during his annual golf tournament in September.
“He is fine,” Barnes said at the time. “When I say fine, 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.
“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.”
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Estrella 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.
He 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.
Estrella’s absence should mean more minutes for sophomore forward Cade Phillips. Tennessee’s starting center Felix Okpara, an Ohio State transfer, is averaging 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in 26.0 minutes per game this season.
Vols lost Jonas Aidoo, Tobe Awaka to NCAA Transfer Portal in April
Tennessee in April lost both center Jonas Aidoo and power forward Tobe Awaka to the NCAA Transfer Portal. Aidoo transferred to Arkansas while Awaka went to Arizona.
With the exit of Aidoo and Awaka, the Vols lost a combined 16.5 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. Barnes went into the transfer portal to get Okpara, the 6-foot-11, 235-and 6-foot-10, 225-pound Charlotte forward Igor Milicic Jr.
Milicic is averaging 11.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and is coming off a 18-point, 10-rebound double-double against Montana.
Tennessee also continues to be without Hofstra transfer wing Darlinstone Dubar, who has been out a little more than two weeks while dealing with a personal matter. Dubar returned to practice activity on Monday and dressed for the Montana game, but did not play.
