Tennessee gets its ‘heart and soul’ back with Zakai Zeigler on the floor

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Nearly a year ago, Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler’s season would come to a screeching halt. The sophomore point guard injured his ACL in the opening minutes of the Vols’ February game against Arkansas.

Previous Coverage: Zakai Zeigler tore ACL during Arkansas game, Tennessee Athletics says

Head Coach Rick Barnes described Zeigler’s challenge of being away from the game, “He cares a lot. He desperately wants to play. It’s killing him.”

Zeigler shortly thereafter began his road to recovery.

“Once they told me I can start the process, Coach G and Chad, they put so much time and effort into me. And they had to push me because I was a little nervous,” said Zeigler.

As he rehabbed the injury, the guard and coaching staff did what they could to keep his skills sharp.

“Once I was able to just stand up on my own, me, Coach G, and Coach Barnes actually were here with me too. And they just helped me to work on shooting like I used to. It felt a little bit weird to shoot like that because I was shooting from the basket for so long. But since that, honestly feel like I’m able to shoot the ball quicker from farther and shoot the ball even better than I ever have,” said Zeigler.

As the start of the 2023-24 season approached, Zeigler became more restless, waiting for the green light for his return.

“He would tell you he’s 100%, even if he were 75%, and he would play his heart out,” said Barnes.

But the team stayed extremely cautious, waiting for the right time to clear the New York native.

“We were probably in this facility six or seven hours a day just trying to do something as simple as lifting my leg. But it was baby steps, and I had to take the small wins as big wins,” said Zeigler.

In their exhibition game against Lenoi-Rhyne, the guard took on a different role.

“We got ready to start and [Zeigler] came up to me and I said, ‘Here, sit down. Sit with me tonight’,” said Barnes. “Let’s talk, we’ll talk through the game. I said to him, ‘Right now, do you think Jahmai knows he can advance the ball?’ He said, ‘I don’t know.’ I said ‘I’m saying he thinks those guys aren’t open. Are they open?’ He says they’re open. So, we call a timeout. And I said to Jahmai, ‘Why don’t you advance the ball?’ He said those guys weren’t open. I said, ‘Z were they open?’ He said they’re open.”

It was a game that allowed Zeigler to see the game from a whole new perspective, one he’d use to tear through defenses.

“It was definitely something that I worked on, for sure. That came from just watching film and just watching the game from the sidelines. Because there’s a lot of stuff you don’t see on the court versus off the court and watching a lot of film, I feel like it opened the flow for me a lot,” said Zeigler.

So, how does the now-junior compare his play today to this time last year?

“I feel like last year I was on a pretty good roll. I had things going, me and the guys were connecting. But this year, I feel like I’m doing kind of the same thing but just a little bit better pace and understanding,” said Zeigler.

Zeigler returned to the Summitt Floor for his first regular season game against Tennessee Tech. He’d register just 12 minutes of play, but his limited minutes on the court had a far greater impact.

“Josiah[-Jordan James] said ‘Coach, we have to give the guy the game ball because he said he’s the heart and soul team.’ And he is,” said Barnes.

As he worked back to full strength, it was the small wins that gave him the most joy.

“Yeah, so much joy. It gives me joy that I could give joy to other people. My teammates are happy to see me out there, all of Vol Nation is happy to see me out there, my family,” said Zeigler.

Once Zeigler knocked off the dust, he put together his best season on Rocky Top. Against the Aggies, the 5-foot-9 guard put up career-highs in assists and rebounds.

“It’s just invaluable of what he does. What can you say about a guy on the court getting nine rebounds like that but yet is distributing the ball the way he did,” said Barnes.

His intangibles, the difference-makers in games gives him an uncanny ability to anchor defenders, and when that happens, he always exposes the weak side.

“Yeah, well, just knowing that guys guard [Dalton Knecht], and all DK needs is that much space to get a shot off. So if I can get him that much space and get the defenders to commit to me a little bit and just give him the ball right in his pocket, I know it’s going up and I know it’s going in,” said Zeigler.

Beyond the magic he creates on offense, his defense is even better. It has an impact that’s earned him the SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

“He’s a pesky defender, and he’s great and energizes his team,” said Associate Head Coach Justin Gainey.

“We’ve been a top-five defense the last three years, and he’s had a lot to do with it. You know, his initial point of defense really sets the tone for our guys in this program,” said Gainey.

The SEC Player of the Year is more than confident in his point guard, “He is the best point guard in the nation. So him just going out there and playing his game every single night and helps us just to get open and play our games.”

The production Zeigler has given this team in his junior campaign is something they’ll rely on during the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament.

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