Estrella out for the remainder of the season

#26
#26
TheMookieMonster said:
I feel like if a mid-year enrollee was a realistic option, there would have been smoke by now. I’m not convinced it’s being discussed. We knew about Vescovi by now the year he enrolled. It wasn’t a surprise.
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If there’s a foreign player they’ll want to keep it quiet to keep the competition away.

I don’t know what the rules are for players on other rosters, but recruiting them before the winter break begins might be one of the NCAA’s last rules that they can enforce and punish violations.
 
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#27
#27
The Dog said:
I read this post blind, didn't see who posted it, but I knew who posted it as soon as I saw, "a walk-on was in a rotation", TGO. TGO loves the kids and the walk-ons
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JJ McClesky is on the Mount Rushmore of walk-ons. Other than Allan Houston, I can’t even remember a basketball walk-on that became a regular. Barnes has elevated the program to a different level.
 
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#28
#28
Thunder Good-Oil said:
JJ McClesky is on the Mount Rushmore of walk-ons. Other than Allan Houston, I can’t even remember a basketball walk-on that became a regular. Barnes has elevated the program to a different level.
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Chris White and Will Brooks are 2 more. All DB's, like JJ, coincidence ? I think not
 
#31
#31
TheMookieMonster said:
I feel like if a mid-year enrollee was a realistic option, there would have been smoke by now. I’m not convinced it’s being discussed. We knew about Vescovi by now the year he enrolled. It wasn’t a surprise.
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I would think the chances of adding someone mid year to this roster who’s a valuable contributor is less than 1%. Estrella was already struggling to find major minutes, same for Carr, most of your best teams are playing 6-8 guys, especially late in the year. Santi was unique in that we weren’t a developed and stable program, we were desperate for guard help and if it wasn’t him it would’ve been a walk on playing, that’s not the case with this roster.

As I said the other day a silver lining to Carr & Estrella out is that we still arguably have our best 7 out there and in the group of 7 you’ve got 3 guys new to the program, so the more those guys can play together the more likely everyone getting acclimated it, rather than having bigger rotations. Yes obviously it leaves us thin in the post, specifically the 5, but between Okpara, Cade, Igor and now Dubar I think they can be fine.
 
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#32
#32
The Dog said:
I thought he was a walk-on, but I'm not positive
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It was 40 years ago. I’m not sure but thought that he was a high ranked QB. I believe that Charles Davis was a QB as well but might not have been recruited to be a QB. There was another DB that was a QB. Brown. Not recalling his first name. He might have even signed an NFL contract.
 
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#33
#33
Thunder Good-Oil said:
It was 40 years ago. I’m not sure but thought that he was a high ranked QB. I believe that Charles Davis was a QB as well but might not have been recruited to be a QB. There was another DB that was a QB. Brown. Not recalling his first name. He might have even signed an NFL contract.
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Yes, Terry Brown was a QB in high school, also. I got to interview him for an English assignment, in high school. Brown knew Mrs. Jones, my English teacher some how, maybe church and set it up for me. Pretty cool for the freshman, 14/15 year old Dog.
 
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#35
#35
bleedingTNorange said:
I would think the chances of adding someone mid year to this roster who’s a valuable contributor is less than 1%. Estrella was already struggling to find major minutes, same for Carr, most of your best teams are playing 6-8 guys, especially late in the year. Santi was unique in that we weren’t a developed and stable program, we were desperate for guard help and if it wasn’t him it would’ve been a walk on playing, that’s not the case with this roster.

As I said the other day a silver lining to Carr & Estrella out is that we still arguably have our best 7 out there and in the group of 7 you’ve got 3 guys new to the program, so the more those guys can play together the more likely everyone getting acclimated it, rather than having bigger rotations. Yes obviously it leaves us thin in the post, specifically the 5, but between Okpara, Cade, Igor and now Dubar I think they can be fine.
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I figured as much. I didn’t think we’d consider a mid-year enrollee. It’s pretty rare. It’s not like we didn’t know we had only 11 scholarship players. If Barnes wanted another contributor, he would have picked someone up in the off-season.

I do agree with your sentiment that losing Estrella isn’t necessarily a hindrance to the ceiling of this team. I’m less concerned about him being an impact player, and more about the margin for error this team now has with health. Estrella was at least a talented prospect that could step in. With Carr battling a thumb injury, and Boswell not expected to contribute much, it just means we have basically zero room for our health to take another hit. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet. I know it’s not worth dwelling on and it’s something that is out of our control. Injuries happen. I just have been really encouraged by the potential of this team, and it seems like the biggest barrier to our success this season is whether we’ll be able to put enough guys on the court come March.
 
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#37
#37
The Dog said:
Yes, Terry Brown was a QB in high school, also. I got to interview him for an English assignment, in high school. Brown knew Mrs. Jones, my English teacher some how, maybe church and set it up for me. Pretty cool for the freshman, 14/15 year old Dog.
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That’s him. He almost made the Chargers roster but had to retire due to a neck injury. He did become an NFL referee though.
 
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#40
#40
Let’s hope that if Barnes doesn’t pull off a magic trick next month with either one of the 2 open spots that it’s because a great class of transfers and freshmen is expected to join before next BB season.
 
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#44
#44
TrapVol said:
Man, looking back, Bruce was so fortunate to inherit that roster. He had a lot of good pieces. It’s just a reminder of how much Buzz underperformed FUT.
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It would have been interesting if Buzz stayed one more year and hired Devoe for Xs and Os and to fill the bad cop role. It worked with Bruce though. At least to wake up the program - not how he left it as a dumpster fire.
 
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#45
#45
One of the walk-ons is going to be on the second 5 for scrimmaging the first team versus the second team until Carr returns.

Perhaps the Austin, TX kid. He’s 6’6”.

Campbell Duncan - Men's Basketball - University of Tennessee Athletics

Campbell Duncan (21) Guard - 2024-25 - FRESHMAN Made his collegiate debut versus Austin Peay (11/17/24), playing the final 2:01 of the contest. HIGH
utsports.com utsports.com
 
#47
#47
Thunder Good-Oil said:
One of the walk-ons is going to be on the second 5 for scrimmaging the first team versus the second team until Carr returns.

Perhaps the Austin, TX kid. He’s 6’6”.

Campbell Duncan - Men's Basketball - University of Tennessee Athletics

Campbell Duncan (21) Guard - 2024-25 - FRESHMAN Made his collegiate debut versus Austin Peay (11/17/24), playing the final 2:01 of the contest. HIGH
utsports.com utsports.com
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It will almost certainly be Hurst, older and best of the walk ons.

Hurst Boswell Gainey Dubar Cade
 
#48
#48
What about getting someone who entered the transfer portal at the end of last season but never found a transfer destination?
 
#49
#49
bleedingTNorange said:
I would think the chances of adding someone mid year to this roster who’s a valuable contributor is less than 1%. Estrella was already struggling to find major minutes, same for Carr, most of your best teams are playing 6-8 guys, especially late in the year. Santi was unique in that we weren’t a developed and stable program, we were desperate for guard help and if it wasn’t him it would’ve been a walk on playing, that’s not the case with this roster.

As I said the other day a silver lining to Carr & Estrella out is that we still arguably have our best 7 out there and in the group of 7 you’ve got 3 guys new to the program, so the more those guys can play together the more likely everyone getting acclimated it, rather than having bigger rotations. Yes obviously it leaves us thin in the post, specifically the 5, but between Okpara, Cade, Igor and now Dubar I think they can be fine.
Click to expand...
I hinted at this a couple of weeks ago, but have committed to not comment on mental health, physical health or other private matters of players. They tried very hard to give him enough time to recover without surgery and play this season, but that was apparently not going to happen. it started to become more and more apparent over the last two weeks, but they wanted to play it out. Ultimately, he still can't push off of the foot, even after extended rest.

I disagree with you a bit on the notion that "Estrella was already struggling to find major minutes". That definitely was not true pre-injury. In mid Summer, he was getting minutes at 4 to 1 over Cade. Post injury he wasn't getting practice or game minutes because he couldn't stay on the court due to pain (that may be what you meant). A healthy Estrella would be playing meaningful minutes and contributing to the team at a serious clip. His offense in June/July was vastly improved over last year, and he obviously has a much higher ceiling than Cade. Prior to the season, I mentioned that Cade would play quite a bit more than Carr and would deliver on effort, rebounds and defense. At that point, people in the program told me that Estrella was a 75% chance of not recovering fully without surgery. I think it was a bit of a fantasy that they thought he could just play through a fracture, but it is what it is.

I think losing Estrella is a material loss, but not insurmountable. Wooden used to say his biggest fear was a short roster, and that injuries are "contagious". He meant that when your key guys are playing over capacity, more injuries come. I don't think that's the case here, but it is a risk. I agree with you that a mid-season add that will be a core contributor is very unlikely. Right now, I do think there is a chance that there is a mid-season addition, but that it is merely to get to healthy practice numbers. This is unlikely, but possible.

Finally, I mentioned (before Dubar took a break for personal issues) that he had three back to back internal scrimmages with the ones, scoring 12+ in each outing. I am not going to comment on why he took a break, or how he overcame it, but he can be a serious contributor. If you like what he's doing now, give him time to work back into team chemistry and flow. He's a tweener, and an odd fit in this offense, but he can score, rebound and defend. He can also drive and pass well. I think he will give us some solid minutes. To me, the key to this team is the addition of Igor and Lanier as a more balanced scoring contribution than what we had last year. I don't think teams can focus on shutting down the outside without giving up the inside. ZZ and Mashack are guys we'll remember for decades, but they always needed scoring support. I hope we can bring back Carr and get Bishop into the lineup, and avoid injuries. This is a quality group that is balanced enough to be a top four team in the conference and a 1-3 seed in March.
 
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