Tennessee basketball may have had a mediocre week after losing another big game to Kentucky, but the team's trajectory has been overwhelmingly positive over the last month, thanks to Nate Ament. The freshman forward looks like a completely new player than the tall, thin, and timid young man we saw in November. Now, Ament is taking the ball to the rim with confidence, fighting through contact aggressively, and hitting his shots from deep. He has been a totally new player.
With Ament slowly becoming a star in the college basketball world, he is getting awards to back it up. Last week in two games, Ament averaged 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game, which has led him to become the SEC Freshman of the Week for the fifth time this season.
Nate Ament could be a top 5 pick in the NBA Draft
With Ament winning the award for the fifth time this season, the only other SEC Freshman to do that are Darius Acuff Jr., Brandon Miller, Jabari Smith, Bradley Beal, and Brandon Knight. Miller, Smith, and Beal all went top three in the draft, and Knight went No. 8 overall. Acuff is still in school, but mock drafts have him all over the lottery.
Ament being on this list proves he's in elite company. In most other years, he would be a surefire top-five NBA Draft pick, but this year's class looks generational. He still could be a top-five pick, no doubt, but with so much talent this year, not being in the top five isn't a bad thing.
CBS Sports' most recent mock draft has Ament going No. 8 overall to the Utah Jazz. This would be a great fit with Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen. They would have some of the league's most elite scorers with size. Their big board does have Ament ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the draft, so he is viewed as a player who could keep creeping up into the top five.
Ament's emergence as a freshman star has put the SEC on notice that Tennessee is a completely different team when he is on the court.