The Nate Ament breakout must continue to prove Rick Barnes’s bold statement right

The Nate Ament breakout is underway. Tennessee’s five-star freshman had an up-and-down start to the season, but suddenly, he’s become one of the best players in the country. In Rick Barnes’s opinion, he might just be the best, flat out. 

On Tuesday night, Ament led the Volunteers to an 84-66 win over Ole Miss with 28 points, six rebounds, and four assists on 9-15 shooting. It was his fourth 20-point outing in Tennessee’s last six games and one point shy of the career-high he set in a January 24 win at Alabama. 

After the game, Barnes was effusive in his praise of Ament, proclaiming, “I really don’t care what anybody says, I wouldn’t trade Nate for anybody in the country.” 

Rick Barnes wouldn’t trade Ament for anybody, but if he could, should he?

The 6-foot-10 forward took over in the second half, willing Tennessee’s lead to expand with an array of impressive shots. He’s a three-level scorer with three-point range, a mid-range, post-up game, and elite body control to finish around the rim. It was all on display at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Tuesday night. 

The talent is apparent, but in a star-studded Player of the Year race, Ament hardly deserves a mention. Even among a loaded freshman class, he’s a long way from the top spot. 

Of course, Barnes is simply backing his guy, who he needs to carry the offense through February in March, as he tasked veteran transfers Dalton Knecht and Chaz Lanier to do in each of the past two seasons. But let’s take him at his word and play around with this hypothetical exercise. We won’t consider all players, but if it were possible, how many freshmen should Barnes consider swapping out Ament for? With his recent stretch of dominance, the list is growing shorter every day. 

First, for this hypothetical midseason trade, we have to take the position into account. Tennessee is set at point guard with Ja’Kobi Gillespie, and while Barnes’s roster could use some help in the backcourt, we’re looking for a similar archetype, a wing scorer who can carry the offense with high-level shot creation through the stretch run and into the SEC and NCAA tournaments. 

For that type of player, Ament is clearly in the upper echelon of the sport since this latest breakout began with 23 points in a double-overtime win against Texas A&M. That’s a six-game sample, but if we sort for the last five, there are only 10 players in the country averaging more than his 23 points per game. Only three: Milan Momcilovic, Dailyn Swaim, and Keaton Wagler are doing it with a lower usage rate. Wagler is the only freshman of that group.

His effective field goal percentage, though, ranks ninth among the 11 players averaging over 23 points across their last five games; only PJ Haggerty and freshman AJ Dybantsa rank lower. 

While his scoring has improved, Ament needs to get more efficient as he ascends into the role of go-to scorer and closer for the Vols. If he does, he could prove Barnes right, but as of now, there are still quite a few wing scorers Barnes would have to be willing to swap Ament for if the offer were presented. 

The freshmen: 

• Cameron Boozer, F, Duke
• AJ Dybantsa, F, BYU
• Darryn Peterson, G, Kansas
• Keaton Wagler, G, Illinois

The most notable exclusions are UNC’s Caleb Wilson, Houston’s Kingston Flemings, and Arkansas’s Darius Acuff. Wilson isn’t the go-to shot-creator Tennessee needs Ament to be, and Flemings and Acuff would be a bit redundant with Gillespie in the backcourt, though they’ve been more prolific scorers than Ament. Peterson is worthy of a discussion as well because of his injury issues, but his upside is just too high when he’s on the floor. 

Ament’s upside is sky-high as well. The No. 4 prospect in the class, trailing only Dybantsa, Peterson, and Boozer, Ament is finally carving his place back out in that hierarchy. If he continues to score at his recent clip, maybe by the end of the year, Barnes will be right that he shouldn’t want to trade Ament for “anybody in the country.”