With one minute and 21 seconds remaining in his team’s 84-66 hammering of Ole Miss inside the Food City Center on Tuesday night, Tennessee freshman forward Nate Ament encountered an unusual sight as he came off the floor.
A grinning Volunteers coach Rick Barnes.
“It’s a very rare look for him to give anybody, but you could just see that he was proud of me,” Ament said afterward in a news conference. “We’ve been through a lot together, especially in terms of me talking to him about how much pressure I was putting on myself and stuff like that.
“He’s been helping me in so many different ways with my game and mentally as well. I think he was just proud of me for having that type of performance.”
Ament torched the Rebels for 28 points, six rebounds and four assists as the No. 25 Vols improved to 16-6 overall and 6-3 in Southeastern Conference play. The 6-foot-10, 207-pounder out of Manassas, Virginia, scored 26 of his points in the second half, when Tennessee raced away from its 26-25 lead at the break.
In those final 20 minutes, the five-star signee was 8-of-10 from the floor and made both of his 3-point attempts.
“For him to do what he did — he earns it,” Barnes said. “He was the last guy to leave practice (Monday), and it’s the way he’s doing it. I think the game has slowed down for him and that he’s starting to see it differently. He’s really seeing the court, and he loves to pass it. He’s a terrific passer.
“I just think the biggest thing is that he settled in prior to going to Florida, because he had been pressing. He is just a totally different player since the Florida game.”
When Tennessee traveled to Gainesville on Jan. 10, the Vols were overwhelmed by the Gators, 91-67, but Ament began a stretch that he has extended to seven games in which he has averaged a robust 22.1 points and 6.1 rebounds. His recent surge includes not only Tuesday’s 28-point outburst but his season-high 29 points during the 79-73 triumph at Alabama on Jan. 24, which began Tennessee’s current four-game winning streak.
Ament’s improved play has also been displayed at the free-throw line, where he has made 52 of 65 attempts the past seven games for an 80.0% clip.
“You just start to get in a rhythm,” Ament said. “You start to make shots. Your shots start to feel good, and it’s hard to beat that. I’m just trying to keep that momentum.”
(READ MORE: Ament, Gillespie combine for 48 points as No. 25 Vols wax Rebels)
Ole Miss (11-11, 3-6 SEC) certainly couldn’t slow Ament’s momentum, which left Rebels coach Chris Beard full of praise.
“He’s obviously a future NBA player, and he’s gotten better from November to February,” Beard said. “That’s not always easy to do when you’re playing against the physicality in this league and the competition, and now he’s forcing game plans as well.
“He’s definitely improving, which is a credit to his coaching staff and the guys who are playing with him. He’s a dynamic player who basically has an unblockable shot.”
Ament has scored at least 17 points in his past seven games, with his next test coming at Kentucky (16-7, 7-3) on Saturday night (8:30 on ESPN). The Wildcats prevailed 80-78 in Knoxville on Jan. 17, when Ament collected 17 points and five rebounds and was 8-of-9 from the foul line.
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Tuesday marked the midway point for Tennessee in its SEC schedule. What if the best from Ament is yet to come?
“I love the kid to death,” Barnes said. “He’s everything you could want in a player and as someone to represent your program. I know how hard he’s worked. He’s such an unselfish person, and he wants to win at the highest level.
“He had that look tonight, and it was good. He was special.”
Odds and ends
Barnes got his 852nd career win Tuesday, surpassing John Calipari for the most among active Division I men’s basketball coaches. … The Vols improved to 80-46 all-time against Ole Miss and have won 10 of the past 12 series meetings. … Tennessee’s 26 first-half points were its fewest of the season. … Beard became the first coach to get ejected in a Tennessee game since former Georgia coach Mark Fox in 2012.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.