Tennessee has placed two members on the late-season watch list for the Naismith Trophy. Point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and wing Nate Ament both made the cut for the award, which is given to the top player in college basketball each year.
The list features 30 of the top players in the country. Tennessee was one of five schools to have multiple players on the list, joining Arizona, Kansas, UConn and Texas Tech.
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The SEC placed seven on the watchlist, with Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Auburn’s Keyshawn Hall, Florida’s Thomas Haugh, Alabama’s Labaron Philon Jr., and Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner joining Ament and Gillespie.
Ament, who has exploded over the last few weeks, was one of 11 freshmen to make the cut. The 6-10 wing has figured things out after a rough start, averaging well over 20 points per game now. It’s all working for Ament right now — passing, shooting, getting to the foul line — this is the top five overall prospect that we heard so much about heading into the season.
Gillespie is averaging 18.1 points and 5.5 assists per game in his lone season with the Volunteers. He’s shooting 35 percent from three, playing more consistently now with Ament picking up so much of the scoring load.
The two have led Tennessee to a 19-7 overall record with a 9-4 mark in SEC play. The Volunteers are in a three-way tie for second place in the conference standings with everyone still chasing Florida.
Tennessee will try to keep it going on Saturday with a trip to Vanderbilt.
