Ament showing growth in recent weeks for Tennessee basketball

KNOXVILLE — It took a couple of games in SEC play to settle in, but freshman Nate Ament has showcased why he was held in such high pedigree as a high school recruit. Coming out of Highland School in Virginia, Ament was a consensus five-star recruit. His 247Sports composite rating of 0.9991 was the highest rating of any Tennessee basketball signee ever, besting Kennedy Chandler (Class of '21), Tobias Harris (Class of '10), and Scotty Hopson (Class of '08). The early part of the season saw the freshman forward have some standout performances, like a 23-point game against Northern Kentucky and 20-point outings against Rutgers and Kansas in the Players Era Festival. However, also mixed in were rough shooting outings. In the Vols' upset win over Houston, Ament only went 1-of-8 from the field. On the road at Syracuse, he went just 2-of-10. Through the inconsistencies, head coach Rick Barnes remained confident in the talented player, encouraging Ament to remain aggressive in the offense. It's a message that has gotten through to the freshman, and it's paying dividends. The first signs of Ament looking for his shot came at Florida. On an afternoon where the rest of the team struggled to the tune of a 91-67 defeat in Gainesville, Ament was one of few bright spots. He posted 17 points going 5-of-11 from the field, Ament followed that up three days later by scoring a game-high 23 points in a marathon victory over Texas A&M. Not only did he shoot 7-of-16, he grabbed seven rebounds in the double-overtime contest. Eight points came in the two overtime periods. He continued the solid stretch against Kentucky, going for a quiet 17 points. But, the Virginia native's biggest game to date came last Saturday at Alabama. The freshman erupted for a new career high with 29 points. He shot 10-of-20 from the field, 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe. Ament also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out three assists. "He's gonna keep getting better," Barnes said to the media after the 79-73 win over the Tide. "It was just a matter of time to where you felt like he would get the flow, the confidence and the vision to see where and how he needed to attack. And he's done that really — and I really think it started in the Florida game. He's put, what, four games (together) where I think he really knows where he needs to go to work." His statline of 29-7-3 is the sixth time an SEC freshman has done so in a game since 2006. The others were Texas' Tre Johnson, Georgia's Anthony Edwards, Kentucky's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Terrence Jones, and LSU's Ben Simmons (twice). The effort for Ament won him the Co-SEC Player of the Week on Monday, alongside Auburn's Keyshawn Hall. He is the second Vol to win the Player of the Week honors for the league this season, joining Greeneville native Ja'Kobi Gillespie. It isn't the only conference award Ament has won to this point, as he has thrice been the recipient of the SEC Freshman of the Week. Ament is just the fourth Tennessee freshman to win the Player of the Week award from the league office. He joins Jarnell Stokes (March 5, 2012), Tony Harris (Feb. 9, 1998), and Allan Houstan (Feb. 11, 1990). He will look to continue his run as the Vols enter the heart of conference play. They will visit Georgia on Wednesday evening before returning to Knoxville on Saturday night, where Auburn will await. Then Ole Miss will pay a visit to the Food City Center at Thompson-Boling Arena to start the February slate.