Tennessee basketball is less than a month away from its season opener against Gardner Webb. Tenth-year coach Rick Barnes provided an injury update on a pair of injured Vols during Tennessee’s in-house media day on Thursday afternoon.
Both sophomore center JP Estrella is dealing with a left foot injury that’s been hampering him since the summer. After being held out of team activities for a good chunk of the offseason, Estrella has started to do more work getting up-and-down the court over the last two weeks.
“He is doing a little bit more each day,” Barnes said. “I don’t know where he is in terms of, he has a good day then maybe he’ll have a setback. We need him but (trainer) Chad (Newman) has done a great job of making sure that he will be ready when the time comes. He is also a player that needs work and reps. They are working him back in to where he is starting to get up-and-down the floor. I don’t know how to answer where he will be and when he will be. It just depends on how much he progresses over these next couple weeks.”
Estrella is entering a pivotal second-year in the program where he will be Tennessee’s second center behind Ohio State transfer Felix Okpara. A former blue-chip recruit, Estrella played just five minutes per game last season but showed flashes on the offensive end throughout the season and played his best defensive game in the Elite Eight as he battled Purdue star Zach Edey.
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While Estrella’s injury has been known for a while, Thursday was the first time that anyone has mentioned an injury for Lanier. According to Barnes, Lanier also has a minor foot injury and has been in-and-out of practice in the past week. Tennessee is holding a practice open to the media later this evening. Stay tuned to RockyTopInsider.com for practice notes and details on Lanier’s participation level.
“He had an inflamed something on his foot,” Barnes said of Lanier. “He has been going in and out, bringing him back, too, slowly.”
Lanier is one of the most highly touted members of Tennessee’s transfer class after averaging 19.7 points on 4% shooting from the field last season at North Florida. One of the top players in the transfer portal this offseason, Lanier chose the Vols over BYU and Kentucky.
“Normally, when he is really playing his best basketball, he doesn’t mess with the ball very much,” Barnes said. “He gets to his shot. He gets where he needs to be. It has been a really — I think he would tell you — unique experience for him playing against a group of guys that bring the energy and effort that Jahmai and Zakai bring. Jordan Gainey has been with it, too. The standard that those guys play with every day has probably been as big an experience as anything he has gone through. He would tell you that. We need him. He is going to have to continue to do what he does but do it at a much quicker pace.”
Tennessee opens up its 2024-25 season on Oct. 6 against Gardner Webb at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. The Vols face Indiana at home in a charity exhibition game on Oct. 27.
