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Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes is being cautious with Nate Ament's health before their next game.
The star freshman forward twisted his right ankle on a rebound attempt early in the first half when the No. 22 Vols (20-8, 10-5) fell to Missouri 73-69 on Feb. 24. Ament left for several minutes before coming back into the game.
"He had turned his ankle early in the game," Barnes said before practice on Feb. 27. "I will say this, most guys probably wouldn't have tried to fight through it, but he did. It thought it slowed him down some.
"We didn't do much with him yesterday, and we'll just see from here how it goes today."
Ament had five points and a steal before leaving at the 16:03 mark, and came back with 13:40 remaining in the half. He finished with 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting, seven rebounds, two blocks, two assists and two steals in 36 minutes.
Ament was 3-of-13 shooting as he battled with Vanderbilt's physicality in the 69-65 win on Feb. 21. With consecutive games shooting under 40% from the field, Barnes wanted to see Ament compete harder for more open looks.
"Well he's going to have to get himself going," Barnes said after the Missouri loss. "He's going to have to be the one to fight to get open. It's March. They're not doing anything different he hasn't seen. It's going to be on him. He's going to have to work hard enough and he's going to have to fight contact and hope that he'll get some calls with freedom of movement. But if he doesn't fight it, he's not going to get those calls."
Senior center Felix Okpara has faith Ament will bounce back. The Vols will need him at his best when they host No. 18 Alabama (21-7, 11-4) at Food City Center on Feb. 28 (6 p.m. ET, ESPN).
"Nate and Ja'Kobi (Gillespie) on our team, they're definitely going to be the most scouted going into every game," Okpara said. "He's going to be OK, he's going to find his footing. He always delivers when it's time to deliver. He works hard on his craft. I think it just comes with being the best player on the team, or one of the best players on the team. Players are always going to try to take you out."
Barnes couldn't understand how his team committed 15 "ridiculous" turnovers after the loss to Missouri.
The film review provided some clarity.
"We were just playing way too fast," Barnes said. "Couldn't see the flow of the game because the guys were playing way too fast. When you play like that, you're going to make those type of mistakes."
Where the excess urgency stemmed from, though, is still a mystery. Tennessee improved on cutting down its turnovers with single-digit totals in five of their last eight games. The Vols had fewer than 10 turnovers in their last three straight games.
More: How JP Estrella became nasty for Tennessee from Uros Plavsic
"I don't know," Barnes said about why his team played too fast. "I wish I did. I always think when you come off games where you have to play hard to win, complacency becomes a part of it. Not just physically, but mentally. Every night you go out, you got to be ready to play. We're not good enough to not play well and expect to win games against other good teams that are playing pretty good basketball. It's a mental letdown."
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: [email protected]
Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks: knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why Rick Barnes is monitoring Tennessee forward Nate Ament injury
Continue reading...
The star freshman forward twisted his right ankle on a rebound attempt early in the first half when the No. 22 Vols (20-8, 10-5) fell to Missouri 73-69 on Feb. 24. Ament left for several minutes before coming back into the game.
"He had turned his ankle early in the game," Barnes said before practice on Feb. 27. "I will say this, most guys probably wouldn't have tried to fight through it, but he did. It thought it slowed him down some.
"We didn't do much with him yesterday, and we'll just see from here how it goes today."
Ament had five points and a steal before leaving at the 16:03 mark, and came back with 13:40 remaining in the half. He finished with 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting, seven rebounds, two blocks, two assists and two steals in 36 minutes.
Ament was 3-of-13 shooting as he battled with Vanderbilt's physicality in the 69-65 win on Feb. 21. With consecutive games shooting under 40% from the field, Barnes wanted to see Ament compete harder for more open looks.
"Well he's going to have to get himself going," Barnes said after the Missouri loss. "He's going to have to be the one to fight to get open. It's March. They're not doing anything different he hasn't seen. It's going to be on him. He's going to have to work hard enough and he's going to have to fight contact and hope that he'll get some calls with freedom of movement. But if he doesn't fight it, he's not going to get those calls."
Senior center Felix Okpara has faith Ament will bounce back. The Vols will need him at his best when they host No. 18 Alabama (21-7, 11-4) at Food City Center on Feb. 28 (6 p.m. ET, ESPN).
"Nate and Ja'Kobi (Gillespie) on our team, they're definitely going to be the most scouted going into every game," Okpara said. "He's going to be OK, he's going to find his footing. He always delivers when it's time to deliver. He works hard on his craft. I think it just comes with being the best player on the team, or one of the best players on the team. Players are always going to try to take you out."
Rick Barnes needs Tennessee basketball to slow down
Barnes couldn't understand how his team committed 15 "ridiculous" turnovers after the loss to Missouri.
The film review provided some clarity.
"We were just playing way too fast," Barnes said. "Couldn't see the flow of the game because the guys were playing way too fast. When you play like that, you're going to make those type of mistakes."
Where the excess urgency stemmed from, though, is still a mystery. Tennessee improved on cutting down its turnovers with single-digit totals in five of their last eight games. The Vols had fewer than 10 turnovers in their last three straight games.
More: How JP Estrella became nasty for Tennessee from Uros Plavsic
"I don't know," Barnes said about why his team played too fast. "I wish I did. I always think when you come off games where you have to play hard to win, complacency becomes a part of it. Not just physically, but mentally. Every night you go out, you got to be ready to play. We're not good enough to not play well and expect to win games against other good teams that are playing pretty good basketball. It's a mental letdown."
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: [email protected]
Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks: knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why Rick Barnes is monitoring Tennessee forward Nate Ament injury
Continue reading...
