What Tennessee freshman Nate Ament said after his debut with the Vols

What Tennessee five-star freshman wing Nate Ament and redshirt sophomore forward JP Estrella said during their postgame press conference after the 18th-ranked Vols started the new season with a 76-61 win over Mercer on Monday night at Food City Center:

What he learned from Tennessee’s exhibition against Duke and how he applied it against Mercer

Nate Ament: “I think I learned the most in film, just having our coaching staff being able to kind of get on me in ways I can get better. Also, I saw the way I was playing and I didn’t like it. So I thought I could just do a better job of running the floor, finding my teammates early whenever I get the ball, and also help my teammates get open shots and stuff like that. So I think the more that I look for my teammates, the better, the more open I’m going to be when I get the ball.”

His mentality when he checked in, if his jump hooks are a product of spending so much time shooting from his scooter last season 

JP Estrella: “Yeah, I think so. A ton of jump hooks when I was on the scooter. You know, just played really hard on defense, run up and down the floor. I mean, our game plan was just to run the bigs. That was the tallest dude they had. The next dude was like 6-8. So I mean, our game plan was to try to run the whole game, and I think we did a pretty good job at that.”

How he felt more comfortable against Mercer after playing in front of a crowd against Duke 

Nate Ament: “I think when I put my trust in my teammates and my coaching staff, what we do every day in practice, and ultimately being present with those other four guys on the court, the game just comes to me. When I start playing a little bit selfish or trying to force the issue, that’s when I get myself into trouble. So for me, I’m just trying to help my teammates and help myself be the best team we can be.”

If there was a moment over the summer when he realized Tennessee freshman forward DeWayne Brown would be an early contributor for this team 

JP Estrella: “Oh, definitely. I mean, DeWayne came in, he came in offensively, great job. Defensively, does a really good job. Does a really good job rebounding, too. He shows it every day in practice, so I’m really not surprised that when it comes to game time, he does the exact same thing that he was doing in practice that he’s doing in the games.” 

What Tennessee needs to do to clean up the 19 turnovers

JP Estrella: “I think we’ve got to be more smart. I think we got to slow down a little bit. I feel like there was times where they sped us up and that’s what got us into turnovers. I just feel like we just got sped up, so I feel like we just got to slow down a little bit, take our time and just really think about it.”

What he likes about Troy Henderson coming off the bench for Tennessee 

JP Estrella: “Oh, I loved it. T-Roy, he brings energy every day in practice, so I was just. I was so excited when he came in, checked in, made two threes. After he made the first one, I was looking at him like let’s go, T-Roy. I was just super excited. He just brought a ton of energy bringing into the game.”

Tennessee’s rebounding being better against Mercer after struggling against Duke 

JP Estrella: “I think we did a great job on the rebound. I feel like in practice we’ve been doing a lot of the bubble drill. I feel like that’s been benefiting us a lot. As much as sucks in practice, I really feel like it’s been helping us a lot when it comes to game time now.” 

Playing with Troy Henderson in AAU, how he has improved since then

Nate Ament: “In terms of being the same, his personality. All the people that have been on the team before can see it just as I have, he’s the same as he was in AAU as he is now. He kind of lights up the locker room, makes us all laugh. I think he’s just been consistent with trying to get better. He knows his role as someone who can kind of back up Ja’Kobi (Gillespie) and come in and be a spark off the bench. So him just kind of learning to master that is just me a better team, and I think he understands that.” 

The competition for minutes in the post for Tennessee, given the depth the Vols have at forward 

JP Estrella: “Yeah, we’re super deep when it comes to our bench. We just got so many guys. Coach made an emphasis on that. We’ve got to play hard every single possession because, I mean, we just got so much talent that comes off the bench. So there’s no reason why, when we get into the games, that we should be playing slow and sloppy. We should just be going full pace the whole time, which I feel like it benefits us so much.”

Trying to walk the line between trying to do too much and taking the shots that are there

Nate Ament: “Even in the Duke game, I feel like the shots I took are the shots I work on. Tonight I think my mindset was kind of just playing the team game, trying to play with my teammates. And I feel like it’s better for a coach to tell you to be more aggressive than for him to tell you to lay off a little bit. So for me, I’m just going to try to make the best plays possible and continue to work on my game, but also stick to the things I know I work on.” 

Telling Bishop Boswell to shoot the corner three

JP Estrella: “Yeah, me and Bishop have been super close since he got here. That’s my guy. Whenever he has a chance to shoot it, I’m telling him to shoot it every single time. He’s a great shooter. And it benefits us as a team when he’s getting wide-open shots like that and he’s knocking them down. So, I mean, anytime there’s an opportunity, we’re going to give him the ball every single time.”