Nate Ament didn’t shy away from tough coaching when he chose to attend the University of Tennessee. Rick Barnes and his staff were going to make sure the highly-touted freshman wasn’t cut any slack.
After being selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of last week’s NBA Draft, Ament expects nothing to change in his new home.
Ament met with the Bucks during the predraft process, and head coach Taylor Jenkins showed Ament a “lowlight tape” of his five worst plays in college.
“I think that’s super important,” Ament said during his introductory press conference. “I think that, as a player who has a lot of room to grow, it’s important to have a coach who sees that in you. But also, talking to him, it’s never really been about anything but basketball.
“So for me, I just want to surround myself with people who are basketball junkies and want to stay in the gym and want to get better every day,” Ament continued. “And I think I found that in Coach Jenkins.”
Cornerstone of a rebuild
Ament was selected No. 13 overall by the Bucks, who are in the process of rebuilding. The organization traded superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat less than 24 hours before the draft, and used one of the picks it acquired to draft Ament.
“We were clear. If we had the chance to take Nate with that pick, that’s what we were going to do,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst told reporters on draft night. “To acquire those draft rights, that was an unbelievable opportunity for us.”
Ament was one of three Tennessee players selected in this year’s draft. Ja’Kobi Gillespie was selected No. 42 overall by the San Antonio Spurs, and Felix Okpara was picked No. 46 overall by the Orlando Magic, who traded him to the Washington Wizards.
Tennessee’s three selections tie the most in program history, matching 1950, 1977 and 2019. The only two occurrences in the two-round draft era (since 1989) have come under head coach Rick Barnes.
“Well it’s awesome. It really is. I am so proud of those guys,” Barnes said. “You go back to a year ago and look at the analytical side of what we do, those three guys put in more work than anybody in terms of the distance they ran, the reps they put in. And it’s always great when you see guys getting rewarded for their hard work. Obviously, all of them meant so much to our program and had so much to do with our success.”
Not doing it alone
Ament is joining a Bucks organization co-owned by Tennessee supporters Jimmy and Dee Haslam. The Virginia native is Tennessee’s top draft pick since 2002, when Marcus Haslip also went No. 13 overall to the Bucks.
In his lone season at Tennessee, Ament averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while earning second-team All-SEC honors. His 584 points were the third-most scored by a Tennessee freshman in program history.
Ament arrived at UT as a potential Top 5 NBA Draft pick, but was hampered by injuries and needed more time for growth. His freshman class proved to be one of the strongest in recent memory, and nine of the first 10 picks in the draft were college freshmen.
The Bucks selected Arizona freshman guard Brayden Burries with the No. 10 pick before taking Ament with the draft capital gained through the Heat trade. The two are expected to be building blocks for the post-Giannis Bucks era. Ament and Burries threw out the first pitch at the Milwaukee Brewers game last Friday night.
“I really wouldn’t say it’s much extra pressure. Luckily, I’m not going at it alone. I have got another top-10 draft pick, Brayden Burries. He’s a tremendous player, and I’m excited to get to learn with him,” Ament said. “Yeah, they are big shoes to fill over there in Milwaukee, and I think that it’s just a tremendous opportunity for me and Brayden. If anything, I see it as an opportunity and not pressure.”
Ament will make his debut in a Bucks uniform when NBA Summer League begins. Milwaukee’s first game is scheduled for July 4 in Sacramento against the Golden State Warriors at 3 p.m. EDT.
“I’m just super excited. Again, like I said, I’m super grateful for the opportunity,” Ament said on draft night. “To be able to make my family proud, to share that moment with my family means the world to me. So super excited and ready to get to work.”