Tennessee Basketball Sophomores' Injuries Impact on Baha Mar Championship

Nov 22, 2024 at 3:04 AM
Tennessee basketball has faced a setback as sophomores J.P. Estrella and Cameron Carr have been ruled out for the team's pair of games at the Baha Mar Championship this week in the Bahamas. The program made the announcement prior to the tipoff against Virginia on Thursday night. Carr is out for 4-6 weeks with a left thumb injury sustained on Sunday during the Volunteers' win over Austin Peay. J.P. Estrella remains out with a left foot injury that kept him off the court against Austin Peay and he will not compete in the Baha Mar Championship as he continues to be evaluated.

Tipoff and Upcoming Games

The tipoff between the Vols (4-0) and Cavaliers (3-0) inside the Baha Mar Convention Center is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET on the CBS Sports Network. UT will face Baylor or St. John's in its second game in Nassau on Friday night depending on the results of Thursday's pair of games.

J.P. Estrella's Injury Status

Rick Barnes labeled Estrella "day-to-day" following Sunday's win over Austin Peay until Tennessee can figure out "a different plan" for the forward. Estrella did not play in the Vols' fourth consecutive win to begin the season as he manages a stress fracture in his foot that plagued him throughout the offseason. He is averaging 4.7 points per game in 10.2 minutes across three games this season. He set a career high with five rebounds in Tennessee's win at Louisville last Saturday, adding two points and a block. The sophomore opened the season by making both of his field-goal attempts in UT's season-opening win over Gardner-Webb on Nov. 4. "We need Cade (Phillips)," Barnes said in the wake of Estrella's development. "The fact is, he has the ability. He can do a lot of things. The more he can play out there, the better he is going to be. I thought Shack (Jahmai Mashack) today, we moved him in there some to play a little bit to play with basically four guards, which gives us that versatility to do that. There are times they had five guards on the court. Cade, we have got a lot of belief in him."

Cameron Carr's Injury and Performance

Cameron Carr injured his left thumb during Tennessee's win over Austin Peay. He scored four points before the injury and made his lone three-point attempt. For the second time in his career, he blocked two shots. The Eden Prairie, Minn. native scored 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor in 16 minutes during UT's 92-57 win over Montana last Wednesday. Carr was 6-of-7 from the free-throw line, adding two assists, to set career highs in points, made free throws, free-throw attempts and minutes, while tying his top mark in made field goals and assists. Carr averaged 4.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in Tennessee's first four games of the season. He's averaging 10.6 minutes off the bench, is 5-of-8 (62.5%) from the floor, 7-of-9 at the free throw line (77.8%) and 2-of-5 from behind the three-point line. Carr has dished out four assists and blocked a pair of shots. "With Cam, really, the last two weeks, I think he's starting to figure out exactly what he's gotta do to play," Barnes said following the Montana win. "It has nothing to do with the offensive end. It's being effective defensively."