Five-star freshman Nate Ament made his Tennessee debut on Monday night as the Vols’ knocked off Mercer 76-61 to begin their 2025-26 campaign.
Ament started and played 29 points in the win, totaling a game-high 18 points on six-of-11 shooting from the field while adding nine rebounds and an assist to go along with three turnovers.
“He’s going to adjust to playing against scrappy guards because he’s never had to do that,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said. “But you look at his line, other than the fact that he turned it over three times, I mean, that’s a pretty good night.”
Ament met with the media following the game and discussed his performance, learning from his mistakes in the Duke exhibition game and much more. Here’s everything Ament said.
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On what he learned from Tennessee’s exhibition against Duke and how he applied it against Mercer
“I think I learned the most in film, just having our coaching staff being able to kind of get on me in ways I can get better. Also, I saw the way I was playing and I didn’t like it. So I thought I could just do a better job of running the floor, finding my teammates early whenever I get the ball, and also help my teammates get open shots and stuff like that. So I think the more that I look for my teammates, the better, the more open I’m going to be when I get the ball.”
On if he felt more comfortable against Mercer after playing in front of a crowd against Duke
“I think when I put my trust in my teammates and my coaching staff, what we do every day in practice, and ultimately being present with those other four guys on the court, the game just comes to me. When I start playing a little bit selfish or trying to force the issue, that’s when I get myself into trouble. So for me, I’m just trying to help my teammates and help myself be the best team we can be.”
On playing with Troy Henderson in AAU, how he has improved since then
“His personality, all the people on the team can see it just as I have. He’s the same as he was in AAU as he was now. He lights up the locker room and makes us all laugh. I think he’s just been consistent about trying to get better. He knows his role as someone who can back up Ja’Kobi and be a spark off the bench. Him just being able to master that is just making us a better team and I think he understands that.”
On trying to walk the line between trying to do too much and taking the shots that are there
“Even in the Duke game, I feel like the shots I took are the shots I work on. Tonight I think my mindset was kind of just playing the team game, trying to play with my teammates. And I feel like it’s better for a coach to tell you to be more aggressive than for him to tell you to lay off a little bit. So for me, I’m just going to try to make the best plays possible and continue to work on my game, but also stick to the things I know I work on.”
