Over the last two games, Nate Ament hasn't been his usual self. Against Vanderbilt, he hit a huge shot with less than a minute to go, but the overall body of work was just okay from the freshman. He only scored 13 points on 23.1% shooting. On Tuesday night, he had 17 points on 35% shooting against Missouri, but Tennessee needs more out of him if they are to get where they can go.
Rick Barnes was critical of Ament after the loss to Missouri, saying he needs to fight through the contact and push through to get some of the calls he deserves.
“He’s going to have to get himself going. He’s got to be the one to fight to get open. He know how he’s been playing. It’s March. They’re not doing anything different he hasn’t seen. It’s going to be on him. He’s going to have to work hard enough that if he’s going to have to fight through contact and hope that he’ll get some calls with freedom of movement. But if he doesn’t fight it, he’s not going to get those calls," said Barnes.
The criticism is valid from Barnes, as he is trying to get Ament on another level before Tennessee begins playing in the SEC tournament and March Madness.
Nate Ament needs to find consistency as March Madness approaches
Ament has been fantastic since SEC play started, but he is still susceptible to not rising to all the big moments. It’s fair to say he doesn’t always get the calls when driving to the hoop, but Tennessee will need him to step up as they inch towards the final three games of the season. Ament is 1000x better at finishing than he was in November, but he still has a ways to go in that department.
When Gillespie and Ament are both firing on all cylinders, Tennessee boasts two legitimate All-Americans. Stopping two players with that level of offensive talent is a huge challenge, which puts the Vols in a category capable of beating any team in the country, including Duke, Michigan, and Arizona.