Duke coach Jon Scheyer leaves no doubt how he feels about Tennessee Vols true freshman Nate Ament

The Tennessee Vols took on the Duke Blue Devils in an exhibition game in Thompson-Boling Arena on Sunday evening.

Duke came out on top in the exhibition, winning 83-76.

Vols true freshman forward Nate Ament, the No. 4 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class (via 247Sports), was solid in his debut for Tennessee.

Ament scored 14 points on 5-of-19 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds. It wasn't a super efficient night for Ament, but his performance still impressed Duke head coach Jon Scheyer.

Jon Scheyer compliments Vols true freshman forward Nate Ament

After the game, Scheyer told reporters there's "no doubt" that Ament will be a "big-time player".

"He’s super talented," said Scheyer of Ament. "Now that we’re not going to play them, at least for a while, we’ll be rooting for Nate. Great kid and great family. Just his versatility, like his ability to impact the game all different ways -- he had a double-double and he didn’t even make a lot of shots tonight.

"I thought our team did a good job of making him try to score over the top. I think that’s important because obviously he’s got great size. But Nate is gonna be a big-time player, and there’s no doubt about it."

Ament is the type of talent that can carry a team in March. But he's still a young player, so there will inevitably be some growing pains and tough learning moments for the Virginia native -- especially early in the season. Those tough learning moments, however, will help Ament develop into a player who's a major problem for opponents come tournament time.

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