With Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka in the transfer portal, the time is now for Tennessee's JP Estrella
Tennessee basketball’s game plan against Purdue in the Elite Eight was to everything possible in the post to keep Zach Edey from getting to his spots. If the 7-foot-4, 300-pound center went where he wanted, when he wanted, there would be nothing the Vols could do.
Jonas Aidoo wasn’t able to do it.
“The whole thing was trying to get him to start out farther,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the 72-66 loss to Purdue at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on March 31, “trying to keep him there, so we could get those digs where we didn’t have to come so far. Jonas was having a hard time keeping him out of the middle of the lane.”
Edey scored 40 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in 39 minutes against the Vols.
“Jonas was having a hard time letting Zach set up right in front of the rim,” Barnes said, “and we couldn’t get there to help. Just couldn’t get there when it’s that deep.”
Edey drew 16 fouls in the game, singlehandedly putting Aidoo and Tobe Awaka in foul trouble.
That left Tennessee to turn to JP Estrella, the freshman forward who averaged just 5.2 minutes per game in his 25 appearances this season.
Against Purdue, Estrella played a season-high 15 minutes, battling against Edey in the post in the biggest game of the season, on the biggest stage of the season.
“He went in there and battled against Player of the Year in college basketball,” Barnes said. “It’s a great experience. I think going forward he definitely understands what it’s about.”
Going forward looks a lot different now than it did two weeks ago.
Estrella and fellow freshman Cade Phillips are currently the only two forwards left standing on the 2024-25 roster after both Aidoo and Awaka entered the NCAA Transfer Portal.
Estrella finished with two points, a rebound and three fouls after his 15 minutes against Edey, but took away no moral victory from his moment in the spotlight.
“I just didn’t do a good enough job on him,” Estrella said. “I feel like he’s just such a big dude and, I mean, credit to him. He’s a great player. I just tried my best and it just wasn’t good enough.”
Estrella was a four-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, ranked as the No. 60 overall player in the country. The South Portland, Maine, product was ranked No. 8 among centers and No. 3 in New Hampshire, where he attended prep basketball powerhouse Brewster Academy.
After the season-ending loss in the Elite Eight, he said his first season at Tennessee was a nonstop learning experience, covering everything from the physicality the game demands to the speed that goes along with it.
“Just learning how to play at this level,” Estrella said.
Barnes learned something about his freshman center against Purdue. Estrella might not see himself as a center that can play as physically as Edey does, but his head coach saw him do it.
“I think that’s the one great takeaway for him,” Barnes said. “He got a chance to play more than he’s played. I’m sitting here thinking now maybe we ought to try to use him like Zach Edey because he showed his physicality. We thought that about him. I don’t think he’s ever seen himself as that kind of player.”
But it was on display in the Midwest Regional final.
“I feel like I’m just going to grow from this moment,” Estrella said, “and I’m going to do everything I can to help this team next year and just do whatever I need to do.”
