Ament ?

Nate is going through the process of getting all his feedback before announcing anything. He heads to Portsmouth next week where he will play against the best college players in the country which will be a big evaluation tool for him and for teams to see him in that setting. The Portsmouth Invitational will be vital for both Nate and Tennessee because educated positions need to start happening as Tennessee fills out their roster. To be clear Tennessee isn't waiting around on Nate but it isn't 0% either... waiting around is high risk, high reward. If you wait for NBA process guys you better land them. Example is Chaz Lanier. Tennessee waited on Chaz and felt good the whole time but with Kentucky and BYU hanging around trying to get him you better know for a fact you can close or else you just got left in the cold with most other players already signed. If Nate were to come back to school next year he would make more at Tennessee than he would in his rookie year in the NBA on the rookie contract. - If Nate's feedback is picks 6-12 he is heading to the NBA. - If Nate's feedback is more 13-18 he still very well may head to the NBA but the conversations with Tennessee will get very interesting based on what Tennessee could and would pay him combined with where his draft stock would be next year in a much lesser draft class. My last conversation with my buddy who is an NBA scout said most teams have Nate anywhere from 8-18. He is a polarizing talent to be sure. The PIT will go a long way.

Vols1024 said:

Nate is going through the process of getting all his feedback before announcing anything. He heads to Portsmouth next week where he will play against the best college players in the country which will be a big evaluation tool for him and for teams to see him in that setting. The Portsmouth Invitational will be vital for both Nate and Tennessee because educated positions need to start happening as Tennessee fills out their roster. To be clear Tennessee isn't waiting around on Nate but it isn't 0% either... waiting around is high risk, high reward. If you wait for NBA process guys you better land them. Example is Chaz Lanier. Tennessee waited on Chaz and felt good the whole time but with Kentucky and BYU hanging around trying to get him you better know for a fact you can close or else you just got left in the cold with most other players already signed. If Nate were to come back to school next year he would make more at Tennessee than he would in his rookie year in the NBA on the rookie contract. - If Nate's feedback is picks 6-12 he is heading to the NBA. - If Nate's feedback is more 13-18 he still very well may head to the NBA but the conversations with Tennessee will get very interesting based on what Tennessee could and would pay him combined with where his draft stock would be next year in a much lesser draft class. My last conversation with my buddy who is an NBA scout said most teams have Nate anywhere from 8-18. He is a polarizing talent to be sure. The PIT will go a long way.

How much different do you think a year at Tennessee would make for Nate as far the draft goes?.? Obviously provided he makes a 2nd year jump like most guys under Barnes do.

Vols1024 said:

Nate is going through the process of getting all his feedback before announcing anything. He heads to Portsmouth next week where he will play against the best college players in the country which will be a big evaluation tool for him and for teams to see him in that setting. The Portsmouth Invitational will be vital for both Nate and Tennessee because educated positions need to start happening as Tennessee fills out their roster. To be clear Tennessee isn't waiting around on Nate but it isn't 0% either... waiting around is high risk, high reward. If you wait for NBA process guys you better land them. Example is Chaz Lanier. Tennessee waited on Chaz and felt good the whole time but with Kentucky and BYU hanging around trying to get him you better know for a fact you can close or else you just got left in the cold with most other players already signed. If Nate were to come back to school next year he would make more at Tennessee than he would in his rookie year in the NBA on the rookie contract. - If Nate's feedback is picks 6-12 he is heading to the NBA. - If Nate's feedback is more 13-18 he still very well may head to the NBA but the conversations with Tennessee will get very interesting based on what Tennessee could and would pay him combined with where his draft stock would be next year in a much lesser draft class. My last conversation with my buddy who is an NBA scout said most teams have Nate anywhere from 8-18. He is a polarizing talent to be sure. The PIT will go a long way.

Nate won’t be in the PIT dont think

Vols1024 said:

Nate is going through the process of getting all his feedback before announcing anything. He heads to Portsmouth next week where he will play against the best college players in the country which will be a big evaluation tool for him and for teams to see him in that setting. The Portsmouth Invitational will be vital for both Nate and Tennessee because educated positions need to start happening as Tennessee fills out their roster. To be clear Tennessee isn't waiting around on Nate but it isn't 0% either... waiting around is high risk, high reward. If you wait for NBA process guys you better land them. Example is Chaz Lanier. Tennessee waited on Chaz and felt good the whole time but with Kentucky and BYU hanging around trying to get him you better know for a fact you can close or else you just got left in the cold with most other players already signed. If Nate were to come back to school next year he would make more at Tennessee than he would in his rookie year in the NBA on the rookie contract. - If Nate's feedback is picks 6-12 he is heading to the NBA. - If Nate's feedback is more 13-18 he still very well may head to the NBA but the conversations with Tennessee will get very interesting based on what Tennessee could and would pay him combined with where his draft stock would be next year in a much lesser draft class. My last conversation with my buddy who is an NBA scout said most teams have Nate anywhere from 8-18. He is a polarizing talent to be sure. The PIT will go a long way.

The PIT is for seniors only

Vols1024 said:

Nate is going through the process of getting all his feedback before announcing anything. He heads to Portsmouth next week where he will play against the best college players in the country which will be a big evaluation tool for him and for teams to see him in that setting. The Portsmouth Invitational will be vital for both Nate and Tennessee because educated positions need to start happening as Tennessee fills out their roster. To be clear Tennessee isn't waiting around on Nate but it isn't 0% either... waiting around is high risk, high reward. If you wait for NBA process guys you better land them. Example is Chaz Lanier. Tennessee waited on Chaz and felt good the whole time but with Kentucky and BYU hanging around trying to get him you better know for a fact you can close or else you just got left in the cold with most other players already signed. If Nate were to come back to school next year he would make more at Tennessee than he would in his rookie year in the NBA on the rookie contract. - If Nate's feedback is picks 6-12 he is heading to the NBA. - If Nate's feedback is more 13-18 he still very well may head to the NBA but the conversations with Tennessee will get very interesting based on what Tennessee could and would pay him combined with where his draft stock would be next year in a much lesser draft class. My last conversation with my buddy who is an NBA scout said most teams have Nate anywhere from 8-18. He is a polarizing talent to be sure. The PIT will go a long way.

Very nice synopsis as we have come to expect. JMO if he would opt or another year we are his clear first choice and we pay what it takes. Secondly all though we clearly can’t wait and come up empty Portsmouth is an important step and I think he will have the needed evaluations in time to not leave us hanging.

Just a little side note. IMO, if he does announce he's staying it won't be until after the portal closes. Anything earlier could potentially scare off other transfers, not to mention time to gather more info on options.

I think you go all in on other guys and use Nate as a back up. I don’t think he’s good enough to wait around, potentially lose out on him and others, and then pay him a boatload.

Vols1024 said:

Nate is going through the process of getting all his feedback before announcing anything. He heads to Portsmouth next week where he will play against the best college players in the country which will be a big evaluation tool for him and for teams to see him in that setting. The Portsmouth Invitational will be vital for both Nate and Tennessee because educated positions need to start happening as Tennessee fills out their roster. To be clear Tennessee isn't waiting around on Nate but it isn't 0% either... waiting around is high risk, high reward. If you wait for NBA process guys you better land them. Example is Chaz Lanier. Tennessee waited on Chaz and felt good the whole time but with Kentucky and BYU hanging around trying to get him you better know for a fact you can close or else you just got left in the cold with most other players already signed. If Nate were to come back to school next year he would make more at Tennessee than he would in his rookie year in the NBA on the rookie contract. - If Nate's feedback is picks 6-12 he is heading to the NBA. - If Nate's feedback is more 13-18 he still very well may head to the NBA but the conversations with Tennessee will get very interesting based on what Tennessee could and would pay him combined with where his draft stock would be next year in a much lesser draft class. My last conversation with my buddy who is an NBA scout said most teams have Nate anywhere from 8-18. He is a polarizing talent to be sure. The PIT will go a long way.

LMAO. That Portsmouth Invitational is going to be "vital"?? It will go a long way?? Welp, that's just for seniors, so I guess it won't go well for him.

3-toed-sloth said:

LMAO. That Portsmouth Invitational is going to be "vital"?? It will go a long way?? Welp, that's just for seniors, so I guess it won't go well for him.

[HEADING=3]Brent_Hubbs[/HEADING] [HEADING=3]Publisher[/HEADING] Staff member

• Friday at 6:07 PM

[QUOTE] Aguilar4heisman said: Just saw him in his apartment at old city and asked him. @Brent_Hubbs you ready to hire me? [/QUOTE] I spoke with him on Thursday. He's not closing the door but if he is a lottery pick "hard to say no" He goes to Portsmouth next week as one of the top 64 college players to workout for the scouts and he's finishing this semester of school. He does like it here. Good work by you today.

3-toed-sloth said:

LMAO. That Portsmouth Invitational is going to be "vital"?? It will go a long way?? Welp, that's just for seniors, so I guess it won't go well for him.

He got that from Brent Hubbs himself...not sure how Brent gets that wrong but it does appear the tournament is for seniors only. Igor did it last year.

3-toed-sloth said:

LMAO. That Portsmouth Invitational is going to be "vital"?? It will go a long way?? Welp, that's just for seniors, so I guess it won't go well for him.

When Brent mentioned Portsmouth I assumed the PIT was opening up to some non-SRs who another event was happening. If Nate told Brent that it seems Nate will be heading to Portsmouth to meet with teams and workout if I was guessing. But you are correct the PIT is for SRs. Very exclusive as well. My agent tried hard to get me in after my SR year at Upstate but I ended up getting on the alternate list.

Utjay2 said:

How much different do you think a year at Tennessee would make for Nate as far the draft goes?.? Obviously provided he makes a 2nd year jump like most guys under Barnes do.

2 biggest things that would move Nate up draft boards. 1. Show he can get to the rim consistently. He made his living in midrange and at the free throw line this year. NBA teams want starts that can get to the hoop. It’s the best shot in basketball. 2. Just a weaker draft class next year, which it looks like it will be, hard for it not to be. I still think it’s unlikely he spends another year in college but a fe months ago I would have said 0%.

Utjay2 said:

How much different do you think a year at Tennessee would make for Nate as far the draft goes?.? Obviously provided he makes a 2nd year jump like most guys under Barnes do.

1) Nate has already showed his body will but on real muscle and strength. His strides at Tennessee blew everyone away physically. For many basketball guys it is hard to put on muscle due to the amount of cardio and generally just genetics. It isn't football. You go play 2 hours of pick up in July which happens 5 or 6 times a week in college and you are running like 5 or 6 miles in those 2 hours. Him back another year I would project him adding another 15 pounds of muscle to the 20 he put on when he got to UT. That is a significant deal and would allow him to capably play the stretch 4 in college. And just in general play more aggressive and stronger. Huge benefit to his game. 2) 3 point shooting... came into college with NBA evaluators pegging him as a good 3 point shooter. He then put on a ton of size and strength and it hurt his shooting and now opened the door to scouts wondering how he shoots it from 3. So the 3 and D profile came into question. I think another year with the strength gains would let his shooting profile came back into scouts viewing him as a good 3 point shooter. 3) ISO game... he was pretty good here although finishing around the rim was a struggle at times. This would improve with another year of experience and more strength gains. But his ISO moves and ability to get to the FT line were strong and would get better. Summary- him coming back would greatly improve his game. For a guy with so much ceiling him coming back would be really special. I would safely say averaging over 20 PPG and probably pushing 8 or 9 rebounds with 3 assists. I could see the 3 point shot getting to around 37-38% for the year on a good amount of attempts. Next NBA draft is seen as very weak. Saw an NBA guy say today that as of April 2026 there is not a sure fire one and done prospect as of now. In Nate's decision making, if he is open to the possibility, that next draft class matters greatly as does how much better his game would get.

Vols1024 said:

When Brent mentioned Portsmouth I assumed the PIT was opening up to some non-SRs who another event was happening. If Nate told Brent that it seems Nate will be heading to Portsmouth to meet with teams and workout if I was guessing. But you are correct the PIT is for SRs. Very exclusive as well. My agent tried hard to get me in after my SR year at Upstate but I ended up getting on the alternate list.

You may have mentioned this somewhere on here before, but I missed it if you did. Have you thought about what your career would have looked like in the NIL era? Do you think you would have left SC Upstate and gone to a high major school after your sophomore or junior year?

Vols1024 said:

Nate is going through the process of getting all his feedback before announcing anything. He heads to Portsmouth next week where he will play against the best college players in the country which will be a big evaluation tool for him and for teams to see him in that setting. The Portsmouth Invitational will be vital for both Nate and Tennessee because educated positions need to start happening as Tennessee fills out their roster. To be clear Tennessee isn't waiting around on Nate but it isn't 0% either... waiting around is high risk, high reward. If you wait for NBA process guys you better land them. Example is Chaz Lanier. Tennessee waited on Chaz and felt good the whole time but with Kentucky and BYU hanging around trying to get him you better know for a fact you can close or else you just got left in the cold with most other players already signed. If Nate were to come back to school next year he would make more at Tennessee than he would in his rookie year in the NBA on the rookie contract. - If Nate's feedback is picks 6-12 he is heading to the NBA. - If Nate's feedback is more 13-18 he still very well may head to the NBA but the conversations with Tennessee will get very interesting based on what Tennessee could and would pay him combined with where his draft stock would be next year in a much lesser draft class. My last conversation with my buddy who is an NBA scout said most teams have Nate anywhere from 8-18. He is a polarizing talent to be sure. The PIT will go a long way.

If Ament enters, I’d be shocked if he made it past OKC in the NBA draft. Has the look of a Presti draft pick, imo.

Utjay2 said:

How much different do you think a year at Tennessee would make for Nate as far the draft goes?.? Obviously provided he makes a 2nd year jump like most guys under Barnes do.

Yes and next year's draft sucks. With a great (uninjured) year here, he could be a top 5 pick - probably not close to that in this year's draft (probably near bottom of lottery, maybe higher).

Vols1024 said:

Nate is going through the process of getting all his feedback before announcing anything. He heads to Portsmouth next week where he will play against the best college players in the country which will be a big evaluation tool for him and for teams to see him in that setting. The Portsmouth Invitational will be vital for both Nate and Tennessee because educated positions need to start happening as Tennessee fills out their roster. To be clear Tennessee isn't waiting around on Nate but it isn't 0% either... waiting around is high risk, high reward. If you wait for NBA process guys you better land them. Example is Chaz Lanier. Tennessee waited on Chaz and felt good the whole time but with Kentucky and BYU hanging around trying to get him you better know for a fact you can close or else you just got left in the cold with most other players already signed. If Nate were to come back to school next year he would make more at Tennessee than he would in his rookie year in the NBA on the rookie contract. - If Nate's feedback is picks 6-12 he is heading to the NBA. - If Nate's feedback is more 13-18 he still very well may head to the NBA but the conversations with Tennessee will get very interesting based on what Tennessee could and would pay him combined with where his draft stock would be next year in a much lesser draft class. My last conversation with my buddy who is an NBA scout said most teams have Nate anywhere from 8-18. He is a polarizing talent to be sure. The PIT will go a long way.

Thank you. Very informative.

lturnervols21 said:

What is the latest Intel on Ament and has he set an announcement date for anything? Do you think and staff will pay him matching lottery money, if 8 and below draft value ? Seems like we could get pieces around him and be very good next year

I believe he is coming back

lturnervols21 said:

What is the latest Intel on Ament and has he set an announcement date for anything? Do you think and staff will pay him matching lottery money, if 8 and below draft value ? Seems like we could get pieces around him and be very good next year

Nate is in Virginia for the Portsmouth NBA event this week. The top 64 college players are invited to it. Ament doesn't have a timeline or a planned announcment. He's going through the process. Most have him projected as a lottery pick which is why I think he will leave. Now, he likes being a student and he likes being at Tennessee. He's going to class. He was at the scrimmage yesterday. And I know the early projections on the 2027 draft class is not as good as this class.

SuperBadVol14 said:

If Ament enters, I’d be shocked if he made it past OKC in the NBA draft. Has the look of a Presti draft pick, imo.

I would be shocked if he made it TO OKC in the draft. They are, what, the 17th pick?

Hard Data said:

I would be shocked if he made it TO OKC in the draft. They are, what, the 17th pick?

They were up to 12th last I saw with the Clippers pick.

SuperBadVol14 said:

They were up to 12th last I saw with the Clippers pick.

Ah. That makes more sense.

lturnervols21 said:

What is the latest Intel on Ament and has he set an announcement date for anything? Do you think and staff will pay him matching lottery money, if 8 and below draft value ? Seems like we could get pieces around him and be very good next year

I asked Google if he were going to go 9th and we offered him $8MM, which is 700k over his rookie scale salary at tht slot, how much money would he lose over the course of his playing career. If Nate Ament were projected as the 9th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, choosing to stay at Tennessee for an additional year would likely result in a net financial in his first year, but the true "cost" is measured by the one-year delay of his massive second NBA contract. [HEADING=1]Financial Comparison: 2026-27 Season[/HEADING] At the 9th slot, Ament would earn significantly more in his first year in the NBA than even a high-end $8 million NIL offer.

• NBA (9th Pick Salary): ~$7.3 Million (120% of the projected scale for 2026-27).
• Tennessee NIL Offer: $8.0 Million.
• Initial Direct Comparison: On the surface, staying at Tennessee for $8 million appears to provide a +$700,000 gain in that single year.

[HEADING=1]The Hidden Cost: The "Second Contract" Delay[/HEADING] The real financial loss occurs because every year spent in college is a year delayed from reaching a veteran NBA contract (which can exceed $40M–$50M per year). [LIST=1] [*]Delayed Service Time: By staying at Tennessee, Ament pushes his free agency and potential max contract eligibility back by one full year. [*]Rookie Scale vs. Veteran Max: While he earns $8M in NIL, he is essentially giving up a year of earning a veteran's salary later in his career. If his peak earning years are worth $45 million annually, delaying that start by one year technically "costs" him the difference between that veteran salary and his NIL/Rookie salary. [*]The Opportunity Cost:

• Entering 2026: Hits free agency in 2030.
• Entering 2027: Hits free agency in 2031.
• Financial Impact: He loses one full year of "prime" earnings (potentially $35M–$40M+ net loss over the span of a 15-year career). [1]

[/LIST] [HEADING=1]Nate Ament's Current Status (April 2026)[/HEADING] Following Tennessee's Elite Eight run in 2026, Ament is currently a top-10 prospect on most big boards: [2, 3]

• Rankings: He is ranked as high as No. 8 by ESPN's Jeremy Woo.
• NIL Context: Ament already has a significant NIL presence, including a multi-year deal with Reebok.
• Risk Factor: Staying in college carries the risk of injury or a drop in draft stock. If he fell out of the lottery in 2027, the loss would be even more substantial as rookie scale salaries drop sharply after the top 14 picks. [2, 4, 5, 6]

In summary: While a $8M NIL deal might beat his first-year NBA salary by a small margin, the total career loss would likely be in the tens of millions due to the delay in reaching his second, much larger NBA contract.

Brent_Hubbs said:

Nate is in Virginia for the Portsmouth NBA event this week. The top 64 college players are invited to it. Ament doesn't have a timeline or a planned announcment. He's going through the process. Most have him projected as a lottery pick which is why I think he will leave. Now, he likes being a student and he likes being at Tennessee. He's going to class. He was at the scrimmage yesterday. And I know the early projections on the 2027 draft class is not as good as this class.

Any idea to what days he will be playing? I’m local and seeing if I could make it over to watch.