Tennessee's Nate Ament return would be a gift and a curse for top portal target Juke Harris

Tennessee's Nate Ament return would be a gift and a curse for top portal target Juke Harris originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Tennessee Volunteers are positioning themselves to assemble one of the top teams in college basketball for next season. Much of that is due to Rick Barnes’ success in the transfer portal, along with increased NIL resources provided to the program.

“Tennessee basketball is on track to be among the elite in NIL spending next season. On3’s Pete Nakos on Thursday reported the Vols are one of a handful of teams set to spend $10 million or more in NIL for its roster next season,” VolQuest’s Grant Ramey wrote.

The Vols have been on fire on the recruiting trail, and one major target still on the board is Juke Harris, the Wake Forest transfer. However, it appears that if Nate Ament returns to Rocky Top, Harris could look elsewhere.

“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.

Bringing Ament back would be a major boost—and arguably the more important move for Tennessee. Momentum is building around a potential return, especially with his rising NBA Draft outlook.

“League front office executives tell me that his agency, LIFT Sports Management, is split on the decision because they believe that Ament could be the No. 1 pick in 2027,” Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor wrote.