Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Nate Ament grimaced. The star freshman had just taken a hard fall, losing his right shoe and in clear pain due to the right ankle injury he is playing through this March. Ament picked himself up, put his shoe back on and calmly drilled two free throws to give Tennessee a lead it wouldn’t relinquish in its 79-72 win over Virginia in the Round of 32 Sunday evening.

“Nate gutted it through, because he’s not, we all know he’s not himself,” Tennessee assistant coach Gregg Polinsky said following the game. 

Ament first injured his right ankle on Feb. 24 against Missouri. He returned to that game before escalating the injury, and injuring his right knee, four days later against Alabama. The 6-foot-10 wing missed just two games due to the injury but is still nowhere close to full health.

The Vols didn’t play Ament in the final 10 minutes of their first round win over Miami (Ohio). He dealt with bad soreness playing two games in two days at the SEC Tournament. Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said Saturday that Ament will not be back to 100% until after the season ends.

Ament gained the respect of his teammates long ago, but gritting it out for the team has bought him all the more affection from his teammates. It should from the Vol nation too.

“It just shows how much he loves us and shows his character,” point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie told RTI postgame. “He’s a great kid and has been a great kid since he’s got here. He treats everybody the same.”

“His character is out of this world,” combo guard told Ethan Burg told RTI. “Definitely a different breed, man. He approaches the whole thing with maturity. It starts with practice. Everything. The way he takes care of his body. The way he treats us. Nate is amazing, man. The sky is the limit for him.”

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Ament told RTI that he is getting treatment for multiple hours every day. That includes before and after practice and usually at least additional time. In a day and age where many projected top picks are cautious to play while injured, Ament is pushing himself to help his team.

“He has been in that training room with Chad Newman and our interns, I mean, every second it’s open,” senior guard Grant Hurst told RTI. “I mean, he’s in there longer, doing more things things to just prioritize his ankle health right now. He’s giving it all. And not to mention what he has ahead of him to be giving it what he’s doing right now, a testament to his heart and who he is. I’m thankful he’s on our team.”

Ament was not at his best against Virginia but he still made a big impact on the game. The projected lottery pick scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half. He made just four of 11 field goal attempts but knocked down seven of eight field goal attempts. There were a pair of costly late game turnovers but they were his only two in 30 minutes played.

Polinsky, who worked in NBA player personnel departments for 23 years, offered high praise for how Ament has handled the injury while also highlighting how important his contributions were.

“I know Nate’s physical state isn’t anywhere near it was when he was taking over games in the second half,” Polinsky said “When I was scouting and I saw a guy that cared that much about his team and figured even at 75%, I can help this basketball team more than maybe some others because of my ability, I’m willing to go out there and fail at times to help this team win. That’s special.”