Amidst the many negatives in Tennessee basketball’s 80-78 loss against Kentucky was Nate Ament’s continued improvement early in SEC play. Ament scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half against Kentucky, helping keep the Wildcats at arm’s length until a pair of late game turnovers and continued poor defense downed Tennessee.
After a slow first two SEC games where Ament averaged 10.5 points, he’s scored 17-plus and is averaging 19 points in Tennessee’s last three games.
“Nate is figuring it out more and more,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said following the Kentucky game. “Nate’s just getting so much better. He really is. And he had 17 today, made his free throws. But he needs more than seven shots. And some of it, he’s going to have to go get it and make that happen.”
Ament scored his 17 points against Kentucky on seven field goals and nine free throw attempts. Barnes wants him to be more aggressive on the offensive end, juxtaposing his seven shots to Jaylen Carey’s 13 field goal attempts against Kentucky.
Balancing aggression and letting the game come to him has been a challenge for Ament all season. The five-star freshman has had big halves throughout the year but has struggled to maintain consistent high-level production for 40 minutes at a time.
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But it’s not as simple as just being aggressive for 40 minutes. Ament has to do that without turning the ball over. That’s been his biggest issue over the last three games, totaling seven in that stretch and 13 total in SEC play. With his 6-foot-10 height, Ament dribbles high to the ground which makes it easier for helping defenders to knock the ball away when he drives.
The alternative aggression is taking jump shots. Barnes has harped on not wanting Ament to settle for jumpers, especially when they’re not falling.
“Nate needs more than seven shots,” Barnes said. “He does. And we’ll get that.”
Playing Ament at the four-spot is an option to help him be more aggressive. That spaces the floor better and creates bigger driving lanes for Ament to get to his spots around the basket. Tennessee has tinkered with that more over the last couple games after very rarely using it in non conference play.
The next step for Ament is more complicated than just being aggressive, but either way, the freshman wing is stacking his best performances of the season against quality opponents together. That’s a real positive for Tennessee amidst a poor start to SEC play and something they need more of if they’re going to find a way to make a run in March.
