JP Estrella’s resurgence continued Saturday night, and this time it showed up in both production and presence.
The Tennessee forward started for the second consecutive game and delivered 17 points and nine rebounds in the Volunteers’ overtime win against Georgia, a performance that reinforced his growing role as Tennessee enters a crucial stretch of SEC play.
Estrella’s impact was especially evident on the glass. Seven of his nine rebounds came on the offensive end, helping Tennessee generate extra possessions in a game that often stalled late in regulation.
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes pointed to the value of second-chance opportunities and physicality as a defining part of the team’s identity.
“It’s a big part. It’s probably our best offense,” Barnes said. “With our size, this is who this team was built to have those big guys out there.”
Barnes said Estrella has embraced contact and impacted the game in ways that do not always show up in scoring.
Watch VFL John Fulkerson on Live Ball talk about JP Esterlla’s pending emergence this season.
“When he starts rebounding, he does a good job talking,” Barnes said. “He’s doing the things that we need him to do.”
Barnes also noted Estrella’s energy in the huddle before overtime, describing a player who is beginning to look fully comfortable in high-leverage moments.
“You should have heard him in the huddle right before getting ready to start overtime,” Barnes said. “You could tell he’s loving it. Like, ‘Let’s go. Let’s play all night.’”
Estrella echoed that sentiment, saying he wanted to build the team’s energy before overtime began.
“At that point of the game, we were like, ‘Yo, let’s get them. Come on, let’s energy keep going,’” Estrella said. “I was really just trying to emphasize that, build the energy, and get the guys going, and it worked great.”
Barnes said Estrella approached him roughly a week earlier asking what he needed to do to earn a larger role. Estrella said the message was straightforward.
“He pretty much told me just keep being you, but the biggest thing is you got to be physical,” Estrella said. “You got to have a little bit of that Uros mentality.”
For Estrella, that has meant leaning into the physical parts of the game.
“Be just extremely physical, hit dudes on box outs, crashing the O glass, hitting people on screens,” he said. “That was the biggest thing, trying to hit dudes on screens and get better angles to have our guards getting downhill.”
Barnes said Estrella’s rebounding and interior presence were central to Tennessee’s ability to survive a and respond in overtime.
“That was a big play. That was a big one,” Barnes said, referencing a late scramble possession that Estrella helped finish. “Just happy for our guys. They fought hard.”
Sharpened late-game focus has also been a recent priorotiy for Estrella. After the Alabama win earlier in the week, Barnes highlighted Estrella’s perseverance through adversity.
“We know he’s one of the great teammates,” Barnes said. “He’s had some tough breaks in his career, but tonight all that hard work he put in could be the start of something really good for him.”
Estrella said he has worked to stay more locked in during closing moments.
“Just lock in a little bit more,” Estrella said. “Especially those last like couple minutes of the games, I really just told myself, ‘Yo, lock in. Chime in. Don’t worry about nothing else.’”
Estrella’s role appears to be expanding at a critical point in Tennessee’s season.
