DETROIT — Zakai Zeigler thought something was off.
Tennessee's trip to Hawaii to play in the Maui Invitational started off as a promising, early test to a season teeming with promise. Instead, back-to-back losses to Purdue and Kansas left the Vols with more questions than answers about each other.
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A Tennessee roster that featured a balance of newcomers and veterans was still learning about itself, which was understandable. And a couple of losses to top five teams in one of the premier non-conference tournaments over the course of two days in November hardly damaged the outside perception.
But back in Knoxville, the Vols' team leadership knew something needed to change. It started with one-on-one meetings with head coach Rick Barnes.
"We weren't really being good leaders," Zeigler said. "It was really coach Barnes calling us out one by one. He wasn't telling us anything but the truth. Him getting on us like that, it made us feel some type of way. It was like, 'Alright. I'm doing wrong. I've got to fix something for the team.' I feel like we've done a great job of responding to that."
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The response was taking on a new approach, one that tested relationships and there was no discrimination. The freshmen, the transfers and especially the seasoned returners were all under the microscope. If they weren't playing well, they heard about it. If they weren't playing up to the standard, they heard about it.
It was a tough-love approach, but one that likely changed Tennessee's season for the better.
It has been evident all the way up to the 2-seed Vols' 82-75 win over 3-seed Creighton in the Sweet 16 late Friday at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Now Tennessee is heading to the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history with a chance to clinch a spot in the Final Four for the first time ever.
It all sounded good, especially fresh off of two losses where an opportunity to prove itself early in the season was squandered. Getting a roster that was still feeling each other out to buy into the message was another challenge.
Barnes got the message across, but it was up to fifth-year guards Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi, juniors Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack and Jonas Aidoo to ensure it.
"We talked about it in our team meeting, just putting everybody's feelings aside because the most important thing is winning," James said. "So when we're talking to guys who aren't doing their jobs and telling coaching that they can't play in this type of game, it's all out of love because we want to win at the end of the day.
"Just being able to be coachable by each other is huge...We know at the end of the day it's all from a place of love."
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In a fitting twist, standing between the Vols and history is the same Purdue team that helped them learn about themselves more than four months ago.
The Boilermakers are a 1-seed and 7-foot-4 forward Zach Edey, who scored 23 points against Tennessee previously, looks on his way to being named the Naismith Player of the Year for the second-straight season.
Tennessee is a different team than it was then, though.
"Winning is hard," James said. "Especially playing against really good teams with quick turnarounds. We didn't get the job done. Experience in the best teacher and we had to do a better job of holding each other accountable, being able to lean on each other each and every night. We've grown since then.
"That (Maui Invitational), it taught us a lot and we've relied on that experience the entire season and it has enabled us to get to this point in the season."
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