Nate Ament has been drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks at pick No. 13. The pick was a result of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade earlier in the day. The Bucks selected Brayden Burries with the No. 10 overall pick.
Ament averaged 16.7 points per game for Tennessee last season. He pulled down 6.3 boards and averaged 2.3 assists. Defensively, Ament put up one steal and 0.6 blocks per game.
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The 6-10 freshman struggled early on in his college career, but quickly turned it on. Ament showed everyone why he was a 5-star prospect in sec play, learning how to finish out SEC games and put Tennessee in the win column. Ament was rarely under 20 points in conference play, outside of an ankle injury that slowed him to end the season.
Ament is a work in progress. The 6-10 frame, ball-handling and shooting is all a plus, but the strength will need some development. The former 5-star prospect struggled through contact at the rim, but drew enough fouls to make himself useful. Ament found his groove from the three-point line, as well as the free throw line, showing everyone why he was billed as one of the top prospects in the country.
“Nate is so special,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said. “Obviously we love him to death, and I just think that honestly, when he goes through this process that any and every team he sits down in front of, they’re going to see the same things that we see. There’s so much more to him than what you see on the court basketball-wise. Right now there’s no ceiling for him. He’s really hasn’t even scratched the surface. But it’s everything else he brings. I mean, he’s the kind of guy that any franchise, certainly the University of Tennessee, we want him to be the face of the program, and every franchise will see that too.
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“It’s just amazing what he did in one year here, so much of it off the court. I (can) tell you everywhere I’ve ever gone, people want to talk to me about Nate Ament. Up there when he goes through that (NBA Draft) process, they’re going to quickly realize that same thing.”
Tennessee has completely reloaded after going all in on Ament last year. There was a glimmer of hope that Ament could return, but his lottery projection became obvious as the process went on. Ament has large shoes to fill with Giannis gone, but the tools are there if Milwaukee can be patient.
