“While Nate Ament’s Tennessee preseason debut was mixed, the positives outweighed the negatives during a heavily-scouted preseason matchup against Duke,” Wasserman wrote about the Tennessee freshman. “At 6’10”, the ability to simply turn and shoot over defenders stood out first. As his handle improves, he has the potential to become a unique shot-creator with his release point, while he clearly shows shotmaking ability from different spots between the mid-range and behind the arc.”

The Bleacher Report expert did note some early game weaknesses, too.

“It’s obvious and mostly accepted that Ament, more of a late-bloomer compared to this class’ Big Three, remains on the raw side,” Wasserman wrote. “Limited explosion and decisiveness executing off the dribble, mixed with a lack of physicality, will likely hold him back in certain matchups throughout the season.”

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes believes that Ament’s ceiling will only continue to rise as he gets his feet under him this season. The 6-foot-10 freshman put up 18 points in his season debut against Mercer on Monday night and nearly tallied a double-double with nine rebounds.

“I think Nate is just — this is all new to him,” Barnes said after the win over Mercer. “I mean, you know, two games in a row, he’s been a perimeter player the whole time, and he’s going to adjust to playing against scrappy guards because he’s never had to do that. But you look at his line, other than the fact that he turned it over three times, I mean, that’s a pretty good night. And he’s really trying hard defensively. He really is. You can tell he’s trying to really become a good perimeter defensive player.”

More From RTI: What Tennessee’s Nate Ament Said Following College Debut

While Ament’s name might not jump up to the same tier as Kansas’ Darryn Peterson or Duke’s Cameron Boozer – it could, who knows – former Tennessee basketball star Ron Slay believes that Ament is destined for a Top 10 pick in next year’s NBA draft, regardless of how this season goes, because of his raw talent and attributes.

“I think he will come along,” VFL Ron Slay said about Ament on Sunday’s episode of The RTI Low-Down. “He’s not falling out of the Top 10 of the draft, regardless of how this year goes. It does not matter. People’s jobs rely on them drafting him. So, he’s not going to fall. We can sit there and watch Keon Johnson, Julian Phillips, all these guys that had a solid SEC season, and they still go high in the draft? You best believe Nate Ament will still be right there.”

With his 18-point showing on Monday against the Bears, Ament joined a small, elite list in recent Tennessee Basketball history. Ament is one of just five players in the last 20 years for UT to score at least 18 points in his freshman season debut, joining Kennedy Chandler (2021), Jordan Bone (2016), Tobias Harris (2010), and Cameron Tatum (2008).

Nate Ament and No. 18 Tennessee will return to the court this Saturday for game two of the regular season against Northern Kentucky. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more coverage on the team.