Rick Barnes after JP Estrella's double-double: 'I promise you, he can do more'

This was the JP Estrella that Tennessee had been waiting on. Spinning in the paint and scoring on a jump hook that the 6-foot-11, 240-pound redshirt sophomore forward made look easy. Then, later on, looking over the defense for a two-hand touch pass to a dunking Cade Phillips. 

Both the power-forward skills and guard skills on display that made Estrella a four-star prospect and the No. 59 overall recruit in the country two years ago.

“And he still doesn’t have a clue how good he can be,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Saturday, after Estrella had his first double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds in a 95-56 win over Northern Kentucky at Food City Center. 

Up Next: No. 18 Tennessee vs. North Florida, Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, SEC Network+

Estrella in 20 minutes off the bench finished an efficient 8-for-11 from the field while adding three assists. Of his 11 rebounds, six were on the offensive glass, helping the Vols score 17 second-chance points on 16 offensive rebounds as a team.

And still, entering his third year in the program, this is just the beginning.

“It changes everything,” Barnes said of Estrella’s production. “And he can do more. I promise you, he can do more of that.”

Estrella couldn’t do anything last year, not after having season-ending foot surgery last November, addressing a lingering injury that kept him sidelined most of the summer after his freshman year. 

He averaged just 5.0 minutes per game in 25 games off the bench during the 2023-24 season, playing behind Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka on Tennessee’s front line during his first season with the Vols. 

“You think back at the end of his freshman year,” Barnes said, “you felt like he was making the strides.”

‘There’s just so much more there. And I think he’ll get there’

Now after two games — Estrella has 29 points and 16 rebounds while going 14-for-20 from the floor in the wins over Mercer and Northern Kentucky — he’s quickly making strides to the front of what seems to be a loaded Tennessee front court. 

On top of finally getting Estrella back from injury, the Vols returned Felix Okpara at center and Cade Phillips at power forward, added Vanderbilt transfer Jaylen Carey and another four-star forward in freshman DeWayne Brown. 

Barnes had only two adjustments in mind for Estrella during his postgame press conference Saturday.

First, a shift in mindset.

“He’s such a humble, free-loving guy,” Barnes said. “And I told him, I said, you can be like that, but when you get on the floor, you have to change the way you see things, the way you do things. 

“But there’s just so much more there. And I think he’ll get there.”

And he’ll have to get there quicker night in and night out. The more Estrella produces, and the more he becomes the subject of the opposing team’s scouting report. 

“The more you do,” Barnes said, “the more people are going to come after you quicker and you’re not going be able to play around with it. (He’s) going to have to be able to get set to score the ball before he really gets it. 

“But he’s making strides, and like I said, he’s just getting started.”