Without Nate Ament, the Tennessee men’s basketball team is average, at best.
That’s not a hot take. It’s nothing that should be considered click bait.
It’s just a fact of life that coach Rick Barnes and the Volunteers will have to get used to, at least in the immediate future.
It’s too bad. The 6-foot-10 freshman had grown exponentially throughout the season. He started as a guy who made 5 of 19 shots in an exhibition loss to Duke, not having a clue about what the defensive end was all about.
Over the course of the season, he learned shot selection; he learned patience; he learned that defense was a non-negotiable entity when it came to determining playing time. He learned that rebounds and assists count just as much as points.
Ament learned how to navigate the physical part of life in the Southeastern Conference. He learned what it takes to carry a team on his back when necessary.
The past few weeks, it became common knowledge that this manchild was NBA ready and his time on Rocky Top — though brief — had gotten him ready for the next level.
Saturday night, the trajectory of his college career may have changed. With a little under 8 minutes left in the first half against Alabama, a Crimson Tide player launched himself toward a loose ball and hit Ament in the right knee.
He tried to come back in the second half but lasted less than three minutes.
The extent of the injury wasn’t determined, but any time away from the team will leave Tennessee as an average team.
This isn’t last year’s edition of the Vols that could lose Zakai Zeigler for a game and still beat eventual national champion Florida by double digits.
These Vols miss free throws — early and often. They have trouble taking care of the ball. If Ament is out and Ja’Kobi Gillespie is contained, there’s not really a third option to pick up the slack.
Opposition game plans get a lot easier without Ament to tangle with. Possibilities become limited.
Too bad. This could be a team that’s never able to reach its true potential.