Estrella out for the remainder of the season

#51
#51
Stoerner Fumbles said:
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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I'll have to go back and re-watch, but when Dubar shot 3s in the Bahamas tournament, I don't recall seeing that weird windup he had at Hofstra. Has the Shot Doctor, Rich Barnes helped him eliminate that or was I just too drunk to notice it?
 
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#52
#52
NighthawkVol said:
I'll have to go back and re-watch, but when Dubar shot 3s in the Bahamas tournament, I don't recall seeing that weird windup he had at Hofstra. Has the Shot Doctor, Rich Barnes helped him eliminate that or was I just too drunk to notice it?
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Idk about the wind up, but he does have an unusual form/stance
 
#56
#56
Estrella is a huge loss for SEC play. Cade is playing great in the non-conference schedule but does not look heavy enough for SEC play. He reminds me of the freshman Phillips, one and done, a couple of years ago who came out hot then disappeared in conference play. I hope I am wrong, Cade has real energy out there.
 
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#57
#57
VOLtaism said:
Estrella is a huge loss for SEC play. Cade is playing great in the non-conference schedule but does not look heavy enough for SEC play. He reminds me of the freshman Phillips, one and done, a couple of years ago who came out hot then disappeared in conference play. I hope I am wrong, Cade has real energy out there.
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Even though Julian and Cade are both around 6'7/6'9 ish, Cade's more of a true 4, while Julian's a 3, imo. Cade will give the Vols a good 10-15 minutes and will rebound (I expect a lot of offensive rebounds and follow up dunks) and play decent defense. Plus, I think Dubar will slowly start to get more minutes and he will help in rebounding and can score from all 3 levels. We will miss JP, but not as bad as I thought we would, especially if this injury was announced before the season started. I can be an eternal optimist, but as long as we stay healthy, I think we have a top 10 team, all year long
 
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#58
#58
The Dog said:
Even though Julian and Cade are both around 6'7/6'9 ish, Cade's more of a true 4, while Julian's a 3, imo. Cade will give the Vols a good 10-15 minutes and will rebound (I expect a lot of offensive rebounds and follow up dunks) and play decent defense. Plus, I think Dubar will slowly start to get more minutes and he will help in rebounding and can score from all 3 levels. We will miss JP, but not as bad as I thought we would, especially if this injury was announced before the season started. I can be an eternal optimist, but as long as we stay healthy, I think we have a top 10 team, all year long
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Overall we are better on the backline that last season if Cade can matchup in the SEC. They can actually catch the inbound pass without losing it, shots are getting swatted with no foul called and the guy who averaged a foul per minute has not been replaced.
 
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#60
#60
Thunder Good-Oil said:
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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I only just realized my phone changed the last words to FUT. 😆 I’m glad no one took it too seriously.
 
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#64
#64
TheMookieMonster said:
Ugh. That is….awful. Hate it for him, but also hate it for this team. Down to 10 scholarship players. Wishing Estrella a speedy recovery, but this really sucks.
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I'm thinking we will be fine but might miss him if we go up against anyone in the NCAAT with a roster of multiple big bodied centers.
 
#66
#66
Definitely need some new bodies to join this team, if only for practices. In terms of wear & tear on a body, think about how many hours of practice each player goes through for each 40 minutes of actual playing opportunity.

Now consider how many times each season players need to miss some practice time or limit a particular practice activity, in order to allow a minor injury to recover before the next game.

Finding a player with the right skills and physical attributes might not be that hard, but finding that person who also has the attitude and values that would enable them to contribute to this team under these circumstances, and fit in with the current players' values... that might require some divine intervention.
 
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#67
#67
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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How do you see the minutes for the rotation with the upcoming OOC games?
 
#69
#69
BruisedOrange said:
Definitely need some new bodies to join this team, if only for practices. In terms of wear & tear on a body, think about how many hours of practice each player goes through for each 40 minutes of actual playing opportunity.

Now consider how many times each season players need to miss some practice time or limit a particular practice activity, in order to allow a minor injury to recover before the next game.

Finding a player with the right skills and physical attributes might not be that hard, but finding that person who also has the attitude and values that would enable them to contribute to this team under these circumstances, and fit in with the current players' values... that might require some divine intervention.
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Carr gets healthy , he will
Contribute to the team …. To much upside in his game . The sec is going be a grind for sure this season
 
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#72
#72
This sux but not unexpected...affects our outlook imo. Hopefully, Igor can play the 5 in a small ball lineup that is competitive in SEC play. Dubar gonna get his chance along with Phillips to show what they can give us.
 
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#73
#73
MinisterofDef#92 said:
This sux but not unexpected...affects our outlook imo. Hopefully, Igor can play the 5 in a small ball lineup that is competitive in SEC play. Dubar gonna get his chance along with Phillips to show what they can give us.
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Who has been on the floor when Felix sits? Is it Igor AND Cade? Have we been kind of playing those minutes without a well defined 5?

I wonder what the plan is when we face teams with depth at the 5. We’ll need ZZ and the perimeter shooters to dictate the pace in those scenarios.
 
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#75
#75
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Who has been on the floor when Felix sits? Is it Igor AND Cade? Have we been kind of playing those minutes without a well defined 5?

I wonder what the plan is when we face teams with depth at the 5. We’ll need ZZ and the perimeter shooters to dictate the pace in those scenarios.
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If we get in foul trouble with the 3 bigs, maybe Tennessee plays a 5 guard lineup.
 
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