JP Estrella Recaps Iowa Basketball Officials
JP Estrella laid out a mental picture of what he expected when he arrived in Iowa City this week for his official visit with Hawkeye Basketball. The actual journey was more than his vision, in and out of court.
“I feel really good about the program after the trip,” Wolfborough (NH) Brewster Academy and the Middlesex Magic AAU program’s 2023 four-star bigwig told HN.
“Coach (Fran) McCaffrey did a great job and Iowa City is awesome. You can tell the fans love hockey by wearing the gear all around town. And not as many corn fields. Were more than I was expecting. I really like the city.”
Estrella (6-11, 210) has nothing against corn. He just likes that Iowa basketball and the city are so much more than a vegetable.
“The trip was great. I got to see everything Iowa has to offer and hang out with people. I really enjoyed everything about it and met some great people,” he said.
Coming into the week, it was thought that Iowa would match with Duke in his pursuit of Estrella. He was scheduled to meet the Blue Devils right after his stay in Iowa City. He confirmed with HN on Saturday that he has canceled the Duke visit.
He is scheduled to make an official visit to Syracuse on August 4-6. He is considering a Kansas trip.
“After this next trip (Syracuse), I should have a pretty good idea of where I am. I’ll take some time to think and talk things through with my family and the coaches,” Estrella said.
Hockey has been at its best in the last few days. Frank’s son junior forward Patrick McCaffrey hosted Estrella. He spent time with the entire team, but spent most of his time with sophomore Peyton Sandfort and his younger brother, Price Sandfort, a ’23 Wing from Waukee (IA) High, making his official visit.
Perhaps Estrella and Price will complete Sandfort Iowa’s ’23 Class’. Owen Freeman and Brock Harding have already known oral vows in the group.
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Estrella said, “Pat was a super flirtatious guy and super funny. I enjoyed being around him, Peyton and Price. The whole crew was awesome to be around. I had a blast and fit in well.” ,” said Estrella.
Estrella and her parents spent about two hours watching the game film with Fran McCaffrey. Koch shows JP how he plans to use them in the system.
“He showed me that I can do everything I want. We saw a ton of different players, but we saw a lot of Luca Garza because he could shoot rock, pick and roll very well. Could, pick and pop, seal. Post, all the things I love to do,” Estrella said.
Estrella saw two Iowa drills and one weightlifting session while she was in town.
“I got a good sense of how they work and how they run programs,” he said.
During the second day of the trip, Estrella saw the academic side of Iowa.
“The people there were great and really helpful. The staff showed me the great resources available to students in business,” he said.
Estrella hopes to major in sports management.
Like Garza, Iowa could benefit from believing in Estrella’s talent before some Blue Bloods shows. Hawkeye offered him their first high-major scholarship in December. Duke, Louisville and Kansas all introduced in June.
rivals and 247 rank Estrella as a four-star prospect. The first sees him as the number 53 recruit in the country, regardless of ’23 status, while the latter sees him as the number 62 player nationally in the cycle.