Aaron Estrada Drawing Tennessee's Attention

With the transfer portal moving as fast as it always does, it is important for programs with a need to do their due diligence on many players. In Tennessee's case, another lead guard that can score has become a priority. While the Vols have shown a ton of interest in Tylor Perry, the staff has also taken a liking to Hofstra guard Aaron Estrada.

The first word that comes to mind when discussing Estrada is efficiency. Estrada was used on the 64th most possessions in the country while having the 82nd highest shot%. Despite that, he was nationally ranked in both effective field goal% and true shooting%. Estrada also knocked down 36.8% of his threes en route to leading Hofstra to a Regular Season Title in the Colonial.

Scoring isn't all that Estrada does offensively, either. The Woodbury, New Jersey native was a very good passer this season despite his assists taking a dip. Estrada's assists being down simply was a byproduct of him asserting himself as more of a scorer. He didn't get worse as a passer, by any means, but for Hofstra to be better, they needed Estrada to be taking more shots.

While Tennessee needs a guy that can create his own shot (and make them), the question of "how does he fit defensively" always has to be asked. In Estrada's case, he had a 22.9 on-off defensive split margin and 0.89 Defensive Bayesian Performance Rating. The bottom line from those numbers is that Hofstra was a much better defensive team when Estrada was on the floor.

Now that last statement needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Estrada was 169th in the country in minutes percentage, so he didn't come off the floor very much. Despite that, the DPBR rating and the fact that Estrada was nationally ranked in steal% indicates that he was most definitely a plus defender.

Within Tennessee's system, forcing turnovers is a big part of their success. Zakai Zeigler, Santiago Vescovi, Josiah-Jordan James, and Jahmai Mashack were all nationally ranked in steal% this year, so with Estrada's ability to force turnovers. He would be the type of guard that Rick Barnes is looking for.

In 2021-22, Zeigler played more of an off-the-ball role as Barnes used Kennedy Chandler and him together. Even at his size, Zeigler was fine off the ball. If Tennessee were to land Estrada, it would be wise for Barnes to go back to the formula he used with Chandler and Zeigler. After all, Tennessee's offense was way better in 21-22 than it was in 22-23.

Regardless of whether or not Tennessee can land Estrada, the main takeaway is that Barnes and his staff have identified their biggest weaknesses from this past season. With the type of players they have shown interest in, they might be able to knock out two birds with one stone. With Freddie Dilione coming in as well, the Vols could be much more balanced next season, which would ultimately be a huge positive even if they have to sacrifice some defense.

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