CHICAGO — Nate Ament was not thinking about the decision that rests ahead of him after the Tennessee basketball season ended Sunday.
“I really don’t look ahead,” Ament said. “I just want to be here with my teammates right now.”
Ament is widely projected to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft in late June.
He indicated he does not have a timeline to make a decision on his future. He plans to talk to his family, the Tennessee coaches and others before making a decision.
The 6-foot-10 guard averaged 16.7 points and 6.3 rebounds for the No. 6 seed Vols (25-12), whose season ended with a blowout loss to No. 1 seed Michigan (35-3) in the Elite Eight at the United Center. He had seven points and six rebounds before fouling out in the season-ending loss.
Ament battled through right leg injuries late in the season, including a high ankle sprain that limited him in the final month.
“I don’t want to give any excuses and say that I’ve been playing anything but 100%,” Ament said. “It definitely wasn’t the injury why I didn’t play well today. I just couldn’t get it done and I’m not going blame it on the injury. It’s all me. I didn’t do my job to the best of my ability.”
Ament suffered the injury scrambling for a loose ball against Alabama on Feb. 28. He missed the following two games and returned for the SEC Tournament. He had one of his best games with the Vols, scoring 27 points after a second-half scoring flurry in a tournament-opening win against Auburn.
Ament had 11 games with at least 20-points, including three with a season-high 29. All three were in the 10 games before his injury against Alabama.
Ament is the highest-ranked recruit to sign with Tennessee in the recruiting rankings era. The five-star prospect was the No. 4 prospect in the Rivals Industry Rating. He picked Tennessee over Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky and Louisville.
He is the seventh five-star prospect to commit to Tennessee under Barnes and the first since the 2022 class.
Ament played at Highland School in Warrenton, Virginia.