Zakai Zeigler sat at table five feet away from where his season ended nearly eight months ago on Tuesday.
The Tennessee junior guard, who suffered an ACL tear in his left knee against Arkansas at Thompson-Boling Arena, is nearly back to full health, though there isn't an official timetable for his return, less than a month before the Vols' season begins.
"(Rehab) has been really well right now," Zeigler said at the team's media day. "There's no set date or timeline or anything right now. Just listening to the doctors. Just listening to (athletic trainer) Chad (Newman) and (director of performance Garrett Medenwald) and listening to everything they say. We've got to take things slow. That's probably the hardest part but it's going really, really well."
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Zeigler was averaging 10.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and was among the SEC leaders in assists with 5.4 per game before his injury in the second to last game of the Vols' regular season.
The pain of that injury quickly gave way to the pain of having to spend the rest of Tennessee's 2022-23 campaign on the bench but Zeigler took comfort in knowing the readiness of Jahmai Mashack.
"It was definitely a struggle," Zeigler said. "I had never been injured before, so this was my first big injury. We're big on 'next man up,' so once one man goes down, we always know the next man goes up and Jahamai had taken that spot. With the keys in his hands, he did everything he could do and he did a really good job. I always just so happy to see my guys succeed. We went to the Sweet 16.
"Some people say that we didn't make it as far but not a lot of people can say that they went to the Sweet 16."
Mashack was thrust into a bigger role earlier in the season with Josiah-Jordan James in and out of the line up with a lingering injury.
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Mashack split point guard duties in the absence of Zeigler and showed marked improvement as a primary ball handler, in addition to already being an elite defender. Out of Tennessee's options at the position, Zeigler felt the most comfortable with Mashack because of a familiarity that went back to their freshmen seasons two years ago.
"Just knowing that me and (Zeigler) have gone at it since our freshmen year," Mashack said. "Just going at it, butting heads. Playing defense, playing offense. Going against each other. I think it's just an iron sharpens iron mentality. I think he knew just as much as anybody that I wanted to win and I think that's why he was the most comfortable with me getting that role and knowing I was going to do everything to get as far as I can because I know how much work he put into it and that he wanted to be on the court. I didn't want to have any drop off from what he was doing. I just did everything I can, asking him questions, asking him what he saw on the court.
"He was giving me feedback. It was like having another coach out there. I think for me, that's what took my game to the next level. I think me and him partnering up was great for my growth and his."
On the eve of his junior season, Mashack is a key contributor with experience at every position on the floor. His biggest emphasis over the offseason was being a more consistent scorer.
WATCH ON VOLREPORT: Tennessee basketball players speak at team media day
"I think my catch-and-shoot is just getting better and better," Mashack said. "I just want to get it to where it's consistent on a game-to-game basis. I think for me, that pace part, the control, the passes, finishing inside, being able to draw fouls, I think I've grown in pretty much every aspect. Ball-handling, shooting, passing, driving. I've worked on a lot of stuff on the offensive end. That role and having the guys be able to trust me on that end is going to be important for me moving forward."
From Zeigler's perspective, Mashack's biggest improvement is the trust in he now has in himself.
"Once (Mashack) had to take the keys over and run the point, before he was more on the wing, I feel like himself, he didn't really trust it as," Zeigler said. "It was a new position and knowing what to do in certain spots and positions and how to put guys in certain positions.
"Now I feel like he's learned that. He's doing really good in practice. He's getting open shots. He's doing really well."
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