1/8/2024 basketball Edit

Vols guard Zakai Zeigler is 'back' and showing no more signs of rust

Jan 6, 2024; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Zakai Zeigler (5) reacts after shooting a three pointer against the Mississippi Rebels during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. (Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports)

Ryan Sylvia • VolReport

Assistant Managing Editor

Born in Knoxville, Tenn. and a graduate of the University of Tennesee, Knoxville. Covering football, basketball, baseball and recruiting for VolReport.

Following Tennessee's win over Ole Miss, Vols forward Jonas Aidoo made a remark on point guard Zakai Zeigler.

"All I gotta say is he’s back," said Aidoo. "I just love seeing him being confident, you know, hitting threes, getting assists, just doing what he does. That brings so much fire to the team. Just has all of us fired up.”

Aidoo offered this comment following another dazzling performance by Zeigler. The junior guard posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 assists.

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This production has been a recent trend for Zeigler. Although he has shown off his abilities previously in his career, the start to the 2023-24 campaign was turbulent as he recovered from a late-season ACL tear on the final day of February.

Things have turned around in a hurry, though. In his previous four appearances, Zeigler has earned averages of 16.8 points, 6.8 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals.

This is a stark difference from the first 10 games of the year where he averaged 5.7 points, 4.2 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals on inefficient shooting.

This jump in averages has come at an important time for the Vols. In Tennessee's three losses, Zeigler has played poorly. He scored a total of 14 points between the trio of games while shooting 5-for-25 from the field.

With the schedule ramping up and the Vols slated to face only SEC foes for the remainder of the regular season, Zeigler is showing no more signs of rust.

Head coach Rick Barnes has taken advantage of Zeigler's recent play. He is trusting him to be the ball handler on pick-and-rolls with Aidoo to put stress on defenses.

This play was consistently ran against the Rebels with an answer rarely found.

"I thought Zakai really is getting so much better in ball screens," said Barnes. "He's getting better at getting rid of it, feeling the game and making good passes. And our post guys are getting off of it better."

Vols wing Jahmai Mashack knows how hard it is to guard this action. He's had to face it in practice all season.

"It’s so many different ways Zakai can move the ball in that pick-and-roll," said Mashack. "And Jonas is really good, Tobe (Awaka) as well, are really good at sealing your man and making sure that it's giving a lane for either Zakai to go to the basket or for Jonas to get a kick out. And you still have to deal with all the shooters. It’s definitely not easy. I'm on the sideline or on the court in the corner just looking at them two work and it’s definitely a pretty picture."

Now, Tennessee will take it's successful pick-and-roll and hot-handed point guard on the road for a two-game stretch.

First, the Vols will face Mississippi State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET. Then, it will take a trip to play Georgia on Saturday at noon ET.

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