As February turned to March last season, Zakai Zeigler was the heartbeat of a Tennessee basketball team that was preparing for a March Madness run.
However, in the opening minutes against Arkansas, Zeigler tore his ACL and was held out for the remainder of the season.
Due to the late-year injury, Zeigler spent the entirety of his off-season rehabbing his knee. While the team prepared for the season, he worked to be ready for the season-opener.
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While he would miss both exhibition matches, Zeigler was ready for the first game of the regular season. However, he was on a minutes restriction playing just 12 minutes.
By the time SEC play had started, he was full go, though. In the first conference game against Ole Miss, he played 37 minutes. While commonly playing all but a few minutes of matches, he was a key piece of both sides of the ball throughout the slate.
In less than a year, there was no sign of discomfort or rust from his knee injury.
"He’s had a great year defensively and offensively and just coming back from what he came back from, it speaks volumes about his toughness and his tenacity," said Vols assistant coach Justin Gainey. "And he’s just a pesky defender, man. He’s great and he energizes this team. We’ve been a top-five defense the last three years and he’s had a lot to do with it. His initial point of defense really sets the tone for our guys and in this program."
Due to his efforts, Zeigler was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He is the third player ever to win the award while standing under 6-feet tall.
What helped him go from season-ending injury to the best defender in the country in about a year span was taking the summer seriously, trusting his coaches and catching a rhythm.
"It’s really tough because, you know, that injury and although the technology is getting better and better every year, it’s still a tough injury to come back from," said Gainey. "You got the timing, the feel of the game, all of that stuff and he attacked that training this summer and he had some rough days, you know. I’m not going to sit here and say every day was great, but he had some days where he might have doubted himself and doubted it, but he just kept going. And our strength and conditioning staff between Coach Garrett (Medenwald) and Chad (Newman), those guys were phenomenal with him during that process.
"And while he was out, he did a lot of work on his shooting, too. Form shooting and all that. He didn’t just sit back and feel sorry for himself. He just attacked it like he attacks everything else. And again the start was slow. The beginning of the season was a little slow and he finally caught rhythm and just kind of took off from there. So for Z, man, I’m so proud of how he responded to that adversity and multiple encounters with adversity. He just continues to bounce back and fight and he’s in a great space right now."
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When it was revealed that Zeigler's hard work was rewarded with the prestigious award, his teammates were quick to congratulate him.
Even Dalton Knecht, who wasn't there when Zeigler tore his ACL, had seen the grind he had to go through over the off-season.
"I came over to him, congratulated him, because I know he's one of the best defenders in the nation, if not the best," said Knecht. "I knew it was a lot of hard work especially coming off last year. It's a big accomplishment for him to get that."
Zeigler wasn't the only Vol to be recognized for his defensive efforts. Starting center Jonas Aidoo was named to the SEC All-Defensive team alongside him.
The pair were the front-line and anchor of the SEC's best defense. The unit ranked third in the country according to KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency, as well.
Rick Barnes' teams are always defensive minded and having two players on the conference's defensive team speaks volumes to his concerted effort on that side.
"It’s very rewarding," said Gainey. "It speaks to coach Barnes’ emphasis on that side of the ball and ability to push guys, put guys in position to be really effective there. And then for the guys to embrace it, you know, it doesn’t happen without those guys and embracing the defensive side and that’s what they’ve done. That’s what they’ve done and done it at a high level."
This defensive effort spear-headed by Zeigler has led to the Vols earning the 1-seed in the SEC Tournament. Tennessee will get its run started on Friday against the winner between Mississippi State and LSU.
The Vols are widely projected as the final 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament, as well, but a strong run in the SEC bracket could secure the position.
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