Tennessee's loss of Nate Ament to NBA Draft forces Rick Barnes to go all-in on $3M top target
Rick Barnes now knows what his top portal priority must be.
Tennessee's loss of Nate Ament to NBA Draft forces Rick Barnes to go all-in on $3M top target originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball are having a tremendous transfer portal season, nearly rebuilding their roster from scratch.
Head coach Rick Barnes is targeting some of the biggest names in the portal, including Juke Harris. However, it was widely understood that Tennessee likely couldn’t land both Harris and Nate Ament. “So I think you’re looking at only [getting] one (of Harris or Ament).
If you can get one of those guys, Tennessee’s ceiling is what every team wants its ceiling to be — which is to go all the way. I think Tennessee’s added a ton of talent. I feel like they put themselves in position to be back there battling for another Elite Eight or a potential Final Four appearance with the roster they’ve constructed.
But if you can add one of those two, then it definitely, to me, takes it over the top,” VolQuest’s Austin Price said. While it would have been difficult to choose between the two, Ament ultimately made the decision easier for Barnes and his staff. “Tennessee forward Nate Ament declared Thursday that he's heading to the NBA draft after one season in college.