Tennessee basketball has been without star freshman Nate Ament for its last 2.5 games. But following the Vols’ disappointing 86-82 loss against Vanderbilt to close the regular season, head coach Rick Barnes provided a positive injury update on Ament.
“I do (expect him to play in the SEC Tournament),” Barnes said. “And I’ve told you guys, Nate wants to play. Obviously we’re going to listen to our doctors and play the long game with it, I guess, is what we would do. But again, Nate is a tough kid. And if it were up to him, there’s no doubt he would’ve played against South Carolina, he would’ve played tonight. But we listened to the doctors. And I think he would tell you he’s feeling better. But the tough part this time of year, knock on wood. He’s got to practice. He hasn’t done anything in practice since the last game.”
While Barnes expressed optimism, he did note that Ament has to do more in practice before he is able to return to the court. The good news is that Tennessee has four games off before opening up play at the SEC Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
The Vols’ opponent is not yet set for their first game in Nashville though they will face one of Mississippi State, Oklahoma and Auburn. Tennessee went 3-0 against the three teams in the regular season.
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Ament rolled his right ankle in the first half at Missouri and then worsened the injury in the first half of Tennessee’s loss against Alabama last Saturday. He was on the ground trying to corral a loose ball when an Alabama player fell on his right leg and it bent backwards. He briefly returned in the second half but played less than three minutes before exiting for the remainder of the game.
Tennessee went 1-2 in the three games where the injury sidelined Ament for an extended amount of time. The Vols fell at home to both Alabama and Vanderbilt while going on the road and knocking off South Carolina.
The star freshman is averaging 17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game this season. He leads the Vols in rebounding, ranks second in points and ranks third in assists. Ament has been even more productive in SEC play, averaging 19 points and six rebounds per game. He’s one of Tennessee’s major sources of offense. Not having him is a major blow for the Vols.
Amari Evans has emerged as a capable starter in Ament’s absence. The freshman totaled seven points, three rebounds and three steals at South Carolina before scoring a career-high 24 points along with six rebounds and three steals against Vanderbilt.
