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Rick Barnes updates injury status of Tennessee 5-star freshman Nate Ament

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey07/31/25GrantRamey
Nate Ament, Tennessee Basketball | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
(Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) Tennessee's Nate Ament at basketball practice on July 14, 2025, in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Rick Barnes has no concerns about the left wrist injury that has kept five-star freshman wing Nate Ament out of practice recently, saying the move was purely precautionary as the Vols wrap up their summer workouts.

“If we were playing games,” Barnes said, “Nate would play.”

“Just cautionary,” Barnes added. “We want him to come back when we get back here in the fall in a couple weeks we want to make sure everyone is 100% and ready to go.”

Barnes said the Vols have also been cautious with JP Estrella (foot) and Cade Phillips (shoulder). Estrella had foot surgery last November that ended his sophomore season after three games and Phillips missed time with a shoulder injury and later played in a brace.

Ament worked on the side during Thursday’s practice, both with the brace on and the brace off, working alongside Phillips.

“He could practice,” Barnes said of Ament. “We’ve chosen not to because we’ve done a lot with him.”

Rick Barnes: ‘We’re not alarmed by any of that’

It’s also been a move with the rest of the Tennessee roster in mind.

“My idea with that is how do we play when Nate is not on the floor?” Barnes said. “How do we play when Ja’Kobi (Gillespie) is not on the floor. How do we play if Felix (Okpara) is not on the floor? Again, I just said it, they all could have practiced but we’ve chosen not to do that.

“We’re not alarmed by any of that. It’s just given us a chance to have some fun and play with different lineups.”

Ament committed to and signed with Tennessee in April, picking the Vols over Duke, Kentucky, Arkansas and Louisville, among others. He’s one of the highest-ranked prep prospect to ever sign with Tennessee, finishing his prep career as the No. 2 overall player in the 2025 class in the Rivals ratings. 

Tobias Harris in 2010 and Allan Houston in 1989 are the only other Tennessee players who were consensus top-five players as recruits. 

Ament is the seventh five-star prospect to sign with the Vols during the Rick Barnes era and is the 13th McDonald’s All-American in Tennessee’s program history.

Nate Ament projected to be top-five pick in NBA Draft

Multiple media outlets project Ament as a top-five pick in next summer’s NBA Draft, after a one-and-done career at Tennessee.

ESPN went as far as naming Ament as one of four players who are candidates to be the No. 1 overall pick, along with Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson, BYU freshman wing A.J. Dybantsa and Duke freshman forward Cameron Boozer.

“Most NBA teams think it would be difficult, but not impossible, to usurp Peterson and Dybantsa as the top two players,” Jonathan Givony wrote earlier this month, “barring a major surprise.”

“Ament is a late addition to the No. 1 pick conversation and the furthest away of the four from reaching his potential,” Givony added, “in no small part because he weighs 186 pounds. But ultra-talented wing players with his fluidity, shotmaking prowess, defensive versatility and scoring ability are often deemed franchise-type prospects.”

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