Tennessee’s backcourt is loaded enough that a player who averaged 16.9 points per game in the ACC could begin the season coming off the bench. That sounds upside down until you look at the roster Rick Barnes has assembled—and then it starts to look like a luxury few SEC teams can match.
Terrence Hill Jr. is expected to run the offense. Juke Harris brings his own star power, Tyler Lundblade’s movement shooting makes defenses bend, and Jalen Haralson gives Tennessee another big, physical playmaker. Somebody talented is going to have to accept a different opening role.
Ames may be that somebody, and it could be a gift.
The senior transfer from Cal was not merely a volume scorer last season. He put up 16.9 points on 46.4 percent shooting, made 37.6 percent of his threes and hit 85 percent from the foul line, while scoring 20 or more points 12 times. He was one of only 13 Power Five players to clear 46 percent from the field, 37 percent from three and 85 percent at the stripe. Tennessee’s official release
That is a starter’s résumé. It is also exactly the profile that can rescue a possession when the game gets sideways.
Barnes made the attraction plain after Ames signed, calling him a player who “can make shots in late-clock situations.” The Tennessee coach also highlighted Ames as “a crafty lefty with a strong frame who can finish at the rim through contact,” along with being a movement shooter and elite midrange scorer. Tennessee Athletics
That mix matters. Lundblade is a terrific fit next to more ball-dominant creators because of the pressure he puts on defenses without needing many dribbles. Ames is different: he can take the ball, find a soft spot, get into a defender’s body, pull up from the elbow or manufacture a good look when Tennessee’s first action gets swallowed whole.
There will be nights when the Vols need exactly that off the bench.
The evidence is not theoretical, either. In January, Ames hit a four-point play with 9.9 seconds left to beat Notre Dame—whose Jalen Haralson is now his teammate. Haralson remembers it well: “He’s a winner. He’s experienced, a real experienced guy,” he said. “He’s a hooper.” Rocky Top Insider
“Sixth man” can sound like a consolation prize. For this Tennessee team, it may mean the opposite.
Ames could start plenty of games; lineups will evolve, injuries happen and Barnes will follow production. But if the Vols can bring an All-ACC scorer into a tense game when an opponent’s starters are already tired, that is not a lineup problem.
That is a weapon.
– Vol Hoops Staff Writer