Given his status as a potential NBA lottery pick, Nate Ament’s college basketball career at the University of Tennessee was always likely to be one-and-done. Ament’s short time in a UT uniform has potentially reached the final stage, with the NCAA Tournament on the horizon.
No. 25 Tennessee (22-11, 11-7 SEC) received the No. 6 seed in the Midwest Region, and will open play Friday against either No. 11-seeded Miami (Ohio) or No. 11-seeded SMU at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
Ament is still healing from a right leg injury that caused him to miss the final two games of the regular season. The 6-foot-10, 207-pound forward returned to the court last week for the SEC Tournament in Nashville, playing a combined 62 minutes across two games.
“I think it was good for him to really get some of the rust off,” UT head coach Rick Barnes says. “This time of year, you go 10 days (without playing) – I thought it was important that he did get to play in Nashville. I’m not sure that the doctors wanted him to play as much as he played, and I’m not sure if we would’ve kept winning, how much he would’ve played. (If it was) up to him, they’d have had to sit him down because he wanted to play.”
Immediately after UT’s loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, Barnes called the setback a potential “blessing in disguise” because it would give Ament more time to rest and recover to be closer to full strength for the NCAA Tournament.
Season of change
Ament is the highest-ranked recruit Tennessee has ever landed. Although he hasn’t received as much attention as some of the other freshmen across the country in a stellar class, he’s still an intriguing talent with major upside.
Ament is averaging 17.5 points, a team-best 6.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He is one of five finalists for the Julius Erving Award, which recognizes the top small forwards in Division I men’s college basketball. The Virginia native earned six SEC Freshman of the Week honors this season.
Ament’s freshman season has been filled with some ups and downs as he learned a new position and shouldered more responsibility for the Vols. He showcased his growth and became more confident as the season progressed.
“I really don’t care what anyone else says, I wouldn’t trade Nate for anybody in the country,” Barnes says. “He has been good all year, and I knew it would take him some time to figure out the physicality part of it for any freshman to add to his game. And he earns it. He is the last guy to leave at practice.”
Ament has credited the UT staff for helping him become a more polished player.
“Before I got here, I was someone that could just do a little bit of everything. I wasn’t particularly super great at one thing,” he says. “Being with Coach Barnes and all the assistant coaches in the game every day, working on physicality, getting stronger, finding the drive, my pullup game, shooting midranges. Also learning the game, thinking the game – my IQ wasn’t super high when I got here.”
Along with this sheer athletic ability, Ament’s attitude and work ethic impressed nearly everyone associated with the UT basketball program.
“I’ve never seen him in a bad mood, ever,” Barnes says. “Even as hard as I get on him sometimes, but I think he understands. When I say get on him, I’m just pushing him, you know? Because I just know with him, he’s just getting started.”
Still some goals to meet
Barnes says Ament puts a lot of “pressure on himself because he’s a perfectionist.” But the coaching staff knew it would take some time for Ament to transition to the college level. Barnes compared Ament’s progression to NBA star Kevin Durant, who Barnes coached at the University of Texas as a one-and-done All-American in 2006-07.
Both Ament and Durant have slight builds, and Barnes let Ament know it may take up to six months to really understand the level of physicality needed to compete at the Division I level.
“He’s never been a guy that chased guards around the court. He’s never been guarded by a lot of 6-foot-6 guys that are big, strong, trying to get under him,” Barnes said earlier this season. “I mean, there’s so many things he’s gone through this year for the first time, and he’s obviously adjusted and he’s getting better.”
After the Vols watched the NCAA Tournament Selection Show Sunday, Ament appeared on “SEC Now” and says playing in March Madness is a “dream come true for me.” He knows the Vols have never been to a Final Four and hopes to be the player to help lead them there.
“It would mean everything,” Ament says. “Just all the support these fans have shown me, I feel like they deserve so much as a fan base. But also just all me and my teammates and my coaches have been through this year, I want to do everything I can in my power to take this team as far as I can. I know it will be extremely hard, but I feel everyone in Tennessee is deserving of it.”