Nate Ament was forecast to be an immediate star, and he is living up to the billing as No. 20 Tennessee prepares to face North Florida on Wednesday night at Knoxville, Tenn.
The five-star recruit averaged 20.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in his first two college games, including 23 points and eight boards in Saturday’s 95-56 rout of visiting Northern Kentucky.
The output against the Norse was the most for a Tennessee freshman since Julian Phillips scored 25 against Southern California on Nov. 24, 2022, in the Bahamas.
Ament quickly has impressed veteran Tennessee coach Rick Barnes with his court vision and determination.
“With Nate, I thought he was assertive,” Barnes said. “I thought not just what he was doing driving the ball; his passes over the top of the zone were big. Thought he was really starting to see the court better.”
The 6-foot-10 Ament factors in as a one-and-done college player, and he chose the Volunteers (2-0) over programs such as Duke, Kentucky, Arkansas and Louisville.
He has room to grow physically and said Barnes has urged him to be more willing to mix it up with opposing players.
“During practice, Coach Barnes harps on me going straight up a lot, not fading away, going into contact,” Ament said. “So that’s just a product of him trying to help me learn the game.”
Ament wasn’t the only productive player in the victory over Northern Kentucky. Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 20 points and J.P. Estrella registered career bests of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Estrella missed most of the last season due to left foot surgery and received a medical redshirt. Barnes is eager to see how he fares as a sophomore this season, feeling regular big efforts from Estrella would raise the squad’s potential.
“It changes everything, and he can do more,” Barnes said. “I promise you, he can do more of that. And he’s doing it, again, he’s had a year off where it always is tough. When you think back at the end of his freshman year, you felt like he was making the strides, and he still doesn’t have a clue how good he can be.”
North Florida (0-1) will take the court for the first time since being trounced 104-64 by then-No. 3 Florida last Thursday. The Ospreys trailed the host Gators by as many as 43 points and shot 31.1% in Bobby Kennen’s debut as North Florida’s head coach.
Kennen spent the past 16 seasons seated on the bench with Matthew Driscoll, who resigned as the Ospreys’ coach in the offseason to join the Kansas State coaching staff.
“I think there’s apprehension anytime there’s change,” Kennen said prior to the season. “But when you have a relationship built and you have some credibility with the guys, it makes the transition a little bit smoother.”
Kamrin Oriol scored a team-best 19 points in the loss to Florida. He is expected to improve on last season’s 7.3 average coming off the bench.
Trey Cady added 13 points in his college debut for the Ospreys.