Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said that he hasn’t had much of a conversation with his star wing Nate Ament as the All-SEC selection weighs his options on whether he will declare for the NBA Draft or return to college for his sophomore season.
Ament has until 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday night to declare for the NBA Draft though he can withdraw from the draft until May 23.
“The fact of the matter is, I don’t see how he can’t go to the NBA because I think he’s one of the top players in the country,” Barnes said. “But I think everybody thinks there’s this long, drawn out (situation). You go through the process, gather all the information you can. He will do that, and he’s going to make the right decision.
“But personally, I think I already know what the decision is, because I know how good a basketball player he is. But only the good Lord knows for certain. But again, you go through the process and that’s what he’s doing. He’s doing it. And his agency, they’re doing their deal and they’re going to get all the facts they need, and they’ll go from there.”
Ament has yet to announce intentions to declare for the NBA Draft though he could have done so without announcing anything.
The 6-foot-10 wing is coming off a standout freshman season at Tennessee where he averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Ament shot 39.9% from the field, 33.3% from three-point range and 79% from the foul line.
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Barnes has long praised both Ament’s play on the court and his character off the court. The veteran head coach believes that Ament will move up draft boards as he meets more-and-more teams.
“I just think that honestly, when he goes through this process that any and every team he sits down in front of, they’re going to see the same things that we see,” Barnes said. “There’s so much more to him than what you see on the court basketball-wise. Right now there’s no ceiling for him. He’s really hasn’t even scratched the surface. But it’s everything else he brings. I mean, he’s the kind of guy that any franchise, certainly the University of Tennessee, we want him to be the face of the program, and every franchise will see that too.”
The 2026 NBA Draft is loaded with top-level talent making it uncertain where a team would select Ament. The latest batch of mock drafts projects Ament to go anywhere between No. 8 and No. 16 in this year’s draft.
We outlined the financials surrounding Ament’s decision yesterday, but that range could see Ament make anywhere between $2,658,480 and $6,889,200 in his NBA rookie season.
According to a report from Yahoo!’s Kevin O’Connor Wednesday, Ament’s agency is split on whether he should return to school or go pro this year because of the potential for the star wing to move up draft boards after a strong sophomore season.
Ament played through injury down the stretch in his freshman season, helping Tennessee reach the Elite Eight for a third straight season.
