You can tell he’s excited.
Tennessee officially signed five-star forward Nate Ament on Monday afternoon, giving the Volunteers their highest ranked basketball prospect of all time. The 6-9 wing chose Tennessee over the likes of Duke, Kentucky, Arkansas and Louisville.
Per On3, Ament checks in as the third best player in the country. He’s the 13th McDonald’s All-American signee in school history.
“We are ecstatic to welcome Nate Ament and his fantastic family to Rocky Top,” Rick Barnes said in the official announcement. “While everyone is aware of just how special a player Nate is, what really drew us to him throughout the recruiting process was the type of person he is. Nate is a high-character, family-oriented young man with a tremendous, caring support system around him who will mesh with our program from day one. He brings a dynamic skill set to the hardwood, embodying the attributes of a modern basketball player.”
Ament will immediately step into the starting five for Barnes, helping to replace the production lost from several veterans last season. Tennessee must replace starters like Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier, Jahmai Mashack and Igor Milicic, along with key role players Justin Gainey and Darlinstone Dubar.
Ament will start at either the three or the four spot for Barnes, bringing ball-handling, passing and shooting ability to the table.
“Standing out with next-level positional size, he possesses the rare combination of the ability to dribble, pass and shoot with confidence and precision,” Barnes continued. “Nate has a strong basketball IQ to go along with an excellent pairing of skill and toughness. He’s the kind of versatile talent who can impact the game in a variety of ways and, in our eyes, he was the No. 1 player in the class. We are thrilled to have him in orange.”
There’s been a lot of parralells drawn to Kevin Durant here, who Barnes coached during his time at Texas. Ament is a no doubt one-and-done guy, but it remains to be seen if he can to the elite status of someone like Durant.
Ament was named the 2024-25 Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Virginia as a senior. He averaged 19 points and ten rebounds per game.
Barnes will now work to round out his roster around Ament and former Maryland star point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie. We’ll see how many more he adds, but you would think at least two shooters would complete this rotation.