National champion Michigan lands Tennessee big man J.P. Estrella

Dusty May won a national championship by collecting bigs in the transfer portal a year ago, and he’s at it again.

Michigan got a commitment on Thursday from Tennessee big man J.P. Estrella. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

This is a terrific fit. Estrella, at 6-foot-11, is one of the most skilled bigs in the portal. He’s ranked 23rd in our portal rankings, but I’d argue that’s too low considering his combination of size, skill and that he’s coming from a winning program.

Estrella is really good with his back to the basket, scoring 1.155 points on post-ups, per Synergy. He can score over either shoulder. Most of his points with the Vols came from post-ups or dump-offs from guards, but there’s a lot more to his game that May will likely explore. He made 4-of-10 3s this past season and is capable of making a lot more. He has the passing chops to play as a morph of how May used Aday Mara and Danny Wolf. He’s a smart screener who can play two-man games with guards on the perimeter and is also an option on short rolls.

Defensively, he’s well-schooled, having played three years in Rick Barnes’ system. He moved into the starting lineup midway through this past year when Barnes went to a twin tower look with Estrella and Felix Okpara. So Estrella has shown that he can play both the 4 and 5, a good warmup for what he’s likely about to experience at Michigan, where May started three bigs this past year and two 7-footers together in his first year.

Estrella has two years of eligibility left after missing almost his entire sophomore year with a foot injury.

Both Morez Johnson Jr. and Mara are projected as first-round picks. It’s possible Michigan could lose both, but they’re in the range where they could decide to return and try to improve their stock for next year, which is not as strong a draft class. Estrella would be a good fit next to either one.