A pair of Tennessee basketball big men are on the SEC Availability Report ahead of the Vols’ matchup against Texas on Tuesday night in Knoxville. Felix Okpara (bruise) and JP Estrella (illness) are both “probable” for the SEC home opener.
Both were partial participants during Tennessee’s Monday practice. Okpara was also “probable” on the injury report ahead of Tennessee’s SEC opener against Arkansas before totaling three points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 31 minutes in the Vols’ loss in Fayetteville.
Tennessee has not said what exactly Okpara’s injury is though Rick Barnes called it “a bit of a hip pointer” after the Arkansas game.
Estrella has dealt with multiple injuries this season while missing two games. The good news is that this is not as serious as he’s just under the weather. The nature of illness makes his status a bit more uncertain even if he is “probable” on the injury report.
Okpara is Tennessee’s starting center and is averaging 7.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 25.3 minutes per game this season. Estrella is averaging 10.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game.
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Estrella’s minutes have been lower in part due to injury but also because of shortcomings on the defensive end of the court. The media asked Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes Monday what Estrella needs to do to earn more playing time.
“Consistency and being locked into the things that players have to do (and) the things they don’t want to do,” Barnes said. “They have to do the things like run the court every time. They’ve got to go to the glass. If we call a coverage, they got to be in the coverage. Just the things that that you all probably never see, that nobody sees. Those are the things you have to do all the time, and not think that somebody else is going do that for you.
“And that’s not just JP. It’s pretty much what happened Saturday. We had too many guys that just didn’t do their jobs in the way they need to do it.”
Freshman DeWayne Brown starts beside Okpara and is averaging 14.4 minutes per game. Vanderbilt transfer Jaylen Carey is averaging 17.9 minutes per game coming off the bench. Both could see an increase in playing time if either Okpara or Estrella misses the game.
Tennessee could also play a small-ball lineup with Nate Ament or Amari Evans as the four-spot. The Vols played that lineup for the first time all season late in the game against Arkansas.
Tipoff between Tennessee and Texas is at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday night. Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes are on the call for ESPN2.
