A lot of prospects coming to Iowa City from outside the Midwest might have a preconceived notion of what it might be like.

J.P. Estrella is one of those prospects. The native of Maine thought that perhaps Iowa City might be filled with cornfields. But, it wasn’t that at all.

“It was an awesome visit,” Estrella said. “I think it exceeded all my expectations. I thought I would see a lot of cornfields, but it wasn’t like that at all. It was a great city and everything on the visit went better than I thought it would go. I really hit it off with all the players and Pryce (Sandfort).”

Pryce Sandfort, a fellow 2023 prospect was also on his official visit. The two linked up at the first workout they watched and hit it off almost immediately.

“It was awesome to hang out with him. He’s a lot of fun to be around and a really funny guy.”

One of the people that Estrella also met up with was former Hawkeye Luka Garza. The All American was in town this weekend for a wedding they were able to connect for a few minutes during the visit.

“I talked to him for a few minutes. We met up when we were walking around town and I talked to him for a bit and it was cool to see him.”

The four star forward says he really enjoyed being hosted by current Hawkeye Patrick McCaffery, who answered all his questions during his stay. He also sat down with Head Coach Fran McCaffery and watched film and showed Estrella how he would fit into Iowa’s offense.

“The message to me was that they really want me and they want me to come in and play right away for them. They think that I can fit into the offense very well. They made the comparison to Luka Garza because I can step out and shoot and finish at the rim,” Estrella said.

Estrella has now taking official visits to Iowa, Marquette, and Tennessee. All three schools were early to extend a scholarship offer before he blew up this spring and summer on the AAU circuit playing for the Middlesex Magic program. Next up is a trip to Syracuse, who was also an early offer for Estrella.

After that trip, his plan is to huddle with his family and coaches and figure out the next step in his recruitment.

“After the Syracuse trip I want to sit down and evaluate where things are with my family and coaches,” he said. “I might take another visit, but I haven’t really decided on that. I do want to have a decision by the time I start the basketball season.”