J.P. Estrella walked out to the court at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Sunday in gray sweats.
The Tennessee basketball forward is still dealing with the left foot injury that hampered him during the offseason and now has him sidelined during the season.
“It is concerning,” Vols coach Rick Barnes said after Tennessee smashed Austin Peay 103-68. “We know he wants to play. We know he has done everything he can do.”
Barnes classified Estrella as day to day with the foot ailment “until we can figure out a plan — a different plan, obviously.” The Vols − specifically, the duo of trainer Chad Newman and strength coach Garrett Medenwald − are back to the drawing board to find a plan to get Estrella back to health after the sophomore sat out against Austin Peay.
Tennessee plays in the Baha Mar Championship against Virginia on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network). It will play either Baylor or St. John’s on Friday in its second game in the tournament in the Bahamas.
What is J.P. Estrella’s injury?
Estrella dealt with the foot injury during the offseason and the Vols brought him along slowly with an approach Barnes said he thought “was the right plan.”
Barnes stressed in September at his annual golf outing in support of Emerald Youth Foundation that UT had to be cautious with Estrella because the injury “is (in) an area you can’t mess around with.”
“It can turn into really a situation you don’t want it to,” Barnes said on Sept. 23. “We are just going to make sure he is fully healthy before we get him back out there going full speed.”
The 6-foot-11, 241-pound Estrella had a career-high eight points against Montana on Wednesday. He is averaging 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game. He played through an ankle injury in the season opener against Gardner Webb.
Who will Tennessee rely on if J.P. Estrella sidelined long-term?
Estrella is one of two primary post players the Vols have.
Junior forward Felix Okpara is the other and he has started all four games. Okpara, an Ohio State transfer, is averaging 9.3 points and 6.5 rebounds in 24.8 minutes per game.
“We are asking Felix to do a lot offensively, more probably so than in the past,” Barnes said after Okpara’s 12-point, seven-rebound game against Austin Peay.
Sophomore forward Cade Phillips will be the primary reserve behind Okpara without Estrella. Phillips had a career game against the Govs with 13 points and nine rebounds. He primarily has played the four-spot this season, but can play in the post as well. He said Sunday that he is open to play the five-spot to help fill Estrella’s minutes because “you are supposed to have your brother’s back.”
Phillips is averaging 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 18 minutes per game.
“We need Cade,” Barnes said. “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. … We have got a lot of belief in him.”
The Vols used Igor Milicic Jr. as an interior presence, at times, against the guard-heavy Govs. The 6-foot-10 Milicic is averaging 14 points and 6.3 rebounds after back-to-back big games. He had 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists against Montana. He kept it going with 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists against Austin Peay.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
