Tennessee fan favorite in the transfer portal could get a quick call from Gerry McNamara

Three years after joining the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, redshirt-sophomore guard J.P. Estrella entered the transfer portal, breaking the hearts of a lot of fans who loved watching him grow under head coach Rick Barnes.

Now, after starting in just 13 games over the last three seasons, Estrella is looking to land somewhere he can make a larger impact, and after all these years, it might just be one of the programs that initially tried to recruit him out of high school.

Estrella, a native of Maine, received offers from across the country, including from blue-blood programs like Duke and Kansas. However, he took just four official visits to Tennessee, Marquette, Iowa, and Syracuse.

Now, many people are looking to Syracuse head coach Gerry McNamara as one of the first people who is most likely to reach out to Estrella since he entered the portal.

J.P. Estrella could end up at Syracuse after all

While Estrella clearly committed to the Vols out of high school, choosing Tennessee over the Syracuse Orange and any other program that had extended him an offer, his recruiting process could truly come full circle if he transfers from UT to 'Cuse.

When Estrella was still in high school, McNamara wasn't the Orange's head coach; he was simply the team's top lead recruiter. That included being the main point of contact between Syracuse and a young Estrella.

So, McNamara and Estrella are far from strangers, having spent countless hours discussing the forward's career, either over the phone or on an official visit.

Over three years at Tennessee, Estrella averaged 6.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.5 assists, and 0.3 blocks per game for Barnes and the Volunteers.

Coming out of high school, Estrella was a four-star prospect and ranked as the No. 76 player in his recruiting class. Now, as a transfer portal player, he is considered a top-25 prospect in the country.