Tennessee basketball is in the midst of a stretch of four days off between the end of the regular season and the start of the SEC Tournament in Nashville. The break comes at a good time as a trio of Tennessee freshman — Nate Ament, Amari Evans, Troy Henderson — are battling injuries.
Ament’s injury is the most significant. A right leg injury that involves both his ankle and knee sidelined him for Tennessee’s last two games. Following the Vols’ loss against Vanderbilt, Barnes said that he “expects” Ament to play in the SEC Tournament.
Meeting with the media Tuesday, Barnes was not quite as bold but did that that Ament continues to do more-and-more with the Vols’ training staff.
“He’s okay. He did some more,” Barnes said of Ament. “He did some things with Chad (Newman) the last couple days and I think he’ll see a little bit more today. But still we’ll just see. He has been doing more with Chad running and ‘G’ (Garrett Medenwald), those type things. He’ll probably push a little bit more today and see how he responds from it.”
A Second Team All-SEC selection, Ament 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 and him missing time has been a major blow.
Amari Evans has done a strong job filling in for Ament in the starting lineup, totaling seven points, three rebounds and three steals against South Carolina. He was even better against Vanderbilt, scoring a career-high 24 points along with six rebounds and three assists.
More From RTI: Everything Rick Barnes Said Before Tennessee Leaves For SEC Tournament
But Evans rolled his left ankle in the final minute of the loss and did not return to the game. Barnes noted that he thinks Evans will be able to practice Tuesday.
“He’s nursing with it,” Barnes said. “It’s still sore, which this time of year, I’m not sure guys that have those kind of injuries — Nate, him — if they ever truly get back to 100%. It’s what they can tolerate and what we can do with it. But I know again, with both of those guys, they’re doing everything they can to take care of their business with that.”
Henderson has been battling a shoulder injury throughout SEC play. Barnes said that the freshman combo guard will not practice Tuesday and noted that he will have shoulder surgery when the season ends. But for now, Henderson is trying to grit things out.
All three of Ament, Evans and Henderson did some individual work but did not do any five-on-five or team drills. During those portions of practice, the trio went to the Lady Vols court at Pratt Pavilion and did shooting drills. Ament was wearing a brace on his right knee but it was only for precautionary reasons.
Tennessee opens up play in the SEC Tournament on Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET. The fifth-seeded Vols will face the winner of 12-seed Auburn and 13-seed Mississippi State.
More to follow: BetMGM Kentucky
