Nate Ament entered his freshman season at Tennessee in an interesting spot. Out of high school, the talented 6-foot-10 wing was viewed as closer to the top-tier players in his class than the guys at the bottom of the lottery. However, after an up-and-down season, Ament appears to have a draft range in the area of eight to 14. 

Ament does possess a valuable NBA skill set, as he’s a big, lengthy three-and-D prospect, and isn’t at risk of falling too far on draft night. Teams just have to be realistic about his upside.

Is there more to Ament than knocking down open shots and defending adequately at multiple spots? If the answer is “no,” that’s completely fine. Big wings that can space the floor and hold their own defensively are rare. Those are guys you know can play in the postseason. However, in a loaded draft, lottery teams will want to feel like there’s more than just a role player here. And honestly, it’s hard to argue that there is with real conviction. 

Ament shot only 33.3% from deep for the Volunteers, but he sports smooth, repeatable mechanics. He also shot 79.0% from the free throw line, and he did it on 7.1 attempts per game. Sure, the outside shooting could have been better. But there’s no reason to believe that Ament won’t be able to shoot it in the pros. But that’s the end when looking at the positives on offense.

The real concern with Ament is the in-between game. In terms of shot creation, there’s very little there. He doesn’t have a good handle, he’s not particularly shifty, and he doesn’t exactly have any go-to moves. That said, outside of attacking closeouts and drawing fouls, it could be hard for him to create offense for himself. 

Now, Ament does deserve credit for getting to the line as often as he did in college. It’s not easy to shoot 7.1 free throws per game, and drawing fouls is a skill. Ament appears to get it when it comes to getting to the lane and seeking out contact. The issue is that it’s going to be harder for Ament to have defenders off balance without a bag. NBA defenders are bigger, faster, and more athletic than the ones he saw in college. Also, an NBA team will need to trust him enough offensively to have the ball in his hands as often as Rick Barnes did. And without a high usage rate, his high free throw rate (57.8% at CBB Analytics) might not matter. 

Ament is also a miserable finisher for a player his size. It’s very difficult to shoot sub-40% from the floor at 6-foot-10, but Ament shot 39.9% from the field in Knoxville. Also, according to CBB Analytics, he shot just about 53.1% at the basket. That was good for only the 13th percentile in college basketball. 

Ament just doesn’t have a lot of vertical pop, he’s not exactly strong, and he doesn’t look confident attacking the cup. So, while he certainly can add strength at the next level, it is hard to see him as anything but a stand-still shooter and occasional transition threat. 

Ament is just a very difficult prospect to analyze, as any long-term potential he has is more hopeful than practical. Fortunately, as previously mentioned, his ability to shoot and defend will make him a late-lottery target. Defensively, he has a shot at being a guy that can serve as a stopper on an opposing team’s top option. His length and size also give him positional versatility. That, combined with the nice-looking outside shot, gives him an insanely high floor.

Ament has to continue to work to improve as an on-ball option. That’s his path towards significantly outperforming his draft slot and looking more like a big-money player in the future. As of right now, there’s a few ways his career can go, and a lot of it will be up to him. Can he turn himself into a big, reliable wing scorer some day? Or is he more of a Trevor Ariza type? 

For a while, Ament really resembled an American version of Zaccharie Risacher, and that’s a player that went No. 1 in the 2024 NBA Draft. That ended up being a mistake, but the archetype is valuable no matter what. And over the course of his freshman season, Ament’s ability to sucker defenders into fouls made him a little more intriguing than Risacher was. But he’s really going to need to land in an ideal situation in order to live up to his pre-college expectations. 

Ament’s path towards being a very good pro is continuing to work on the jumper, while also continuing to defend at a high level. And while there is more potential than just the three-and-D stuff, you do have to wonder how much. Also, how easy will it be to untap it? If there’s a silver lining with regards to his potential to be late-bloomer, it’s that Ament did have a late growth spurt. Perhaps he’s still getting used to his length.