Rick Barnes: Nate Ament learning college basketball is ‘a whole lot harder’

SYRACUSE — Nate Ament stood in the far corner with Tennessee running in transition and his eyes trained on the basketball. When it came his way on a pass from Ja’Kobi Gillespie, it skipped off both hands and went out of bounds. 

Not long after, this time in front of the visiting bench, the five-star freshman wing caught the ball and turned toward the rim for a jump shot. Only his heel touched out of bounds during the shot. 

Another turnover. Another frustrating moment in a night full of them for Ament during No. 13 Tennessee’s 62-60 loss to Syracuse in the ACC/SEC Challenge game at the JMA Wireless Dome. 

Ament finished with 11 points on just 2-for-10 shooting from the field. He added six rebounds and a pair of assists, but also committed seven of his team’s 17 turnovers, including five in the second half.

The lesson continues to be a basic one. 

“(It’s) a whole lot harder,” head coach Rick Barnes said after the loss, “And he’s not going to be able to do the things that he did in high school.” 

‘He’s going to have to go through the fire’

Ament was the No. 4 overall player in the 2025 class when he signed with Tennessee, but Tuesday night was the first time this season that he looked like a freshman.

He entered the Syracuse game averaging 17.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 27.5 minutes per game. He was shooting 40.4% from the field and 30.8% from the 3-point line, too. 

“It’s a process,” Barnes said. “We knew he’d go through it.”

Then Barnes went down the list of issues Ament is currently processing.  

“He’s going to have to listen,” Barnes said, “because we’re telling him.”

And he’s going to have to experience it.

“He’s going to have to go through the fire,” Barnes said.

And to learn when to press and when not to press.

“When to pick his spots,” Barnes continued, “when not to. But he’s also got to continue to understand the flow of the game.

“We love him to death, we do, and he works his tail off. But there’s just so much of this game he still has to learn.”

Up Next: No. 13 Tennessee vs. No. 14 Illinois, Saturday, Nashville, 8 p.m. ET

There wasn’t much flow to any of Tennessee’s game at Syracuse. 

Jaylen Carey starred off the bench with 22 points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes, but the 11 points scored by Ament and the 10 added by Gillespie came with plenty of struggle. 

Gillespie scored his 11 points on 5-for-12 shooting, going 0-for-3 from the 3-point line. Starting center Felix Okpara had just two points on 1-for-6 shooting and committed three turnovers. 

Cade Phillips was scoreless in 12 minutes off the bench. Ethan Burg played seven scoreless minutes.

“Some of the turnovers we had were ridiculous,” Barnes said, “and some of our shot selection was ridiculous.”  

“Give Syracuse all the credit for winning the game,” he added, “because they made the plays when they had to and we didn’t.” 

It’s part of the process Ament showed he’s still learning, and trying to learn all at once.

“He’s never been a quote-unquote true perimeter player,” Barnes said. “He is learning to do that on both ends. But he’s putting so much pressure on himself and he doesn’t need to do that. He’s got good guys around him. They have great respect for him and they know when they need to get it involved, where they need to get it. 

“He’s just, he’s pressing. Again, he’s putting way too much pressure on himself.”