During Tennessee's blow out win over Tennessee Tech to kick off the 2023-24 regular season, a key piece for the Vols returned to the court.

After tearing his ACL in the final day of February last season, junior guard Zakai Zeigler checked in for his first time since the injury.

When Zeigler checked onto the court, the crowd packed into Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center gave the guard a large round of applause.

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"It meant a lot," said Zeigler on the applause."People been saying it to me, how would I feel if the crowd stood up and gave me a large ovation? I honestly didn't know how I could picture it in my head. When it happened, it was a really good feeling. Like I said earlier, it was just, felt good just to be back in front of everyone being able to play."

This was always the goal for Zeigler. After getting the news that he couldn't complete the season due to the injury, he set his sight on the next campaign.

While working at practice and sitting out the pair of exhibitions, he was able to make his return.

"Right away, I was just thinking, this year is over with, make sure I'll be back for sure for the season opener or the first week of games," said Zeigler.

The decision on when he could return was out of his hands, though. While he wanted to get back to full speed as soon as possible, the medical staff on the team had to make sure he was progressing.

Due to this, a minute restriction was placed on the guard as he opens the year. Against the Golden Eagles, he saw just 13 minutes on the court.

"It really wasn't my decision," said Zeigler. "It was really on the medical staff and what they were telling me and how my testing was going. So, it was really on those guys. If it was up to me, I would've been back the day I started working but it was really up to them."

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Not being able to play as much as he desires has been hard on the junior. He knows he needs to do what's best for his body, but he also wants to get back to no limitations in a hurry.

Head coach Rick Barnes was impressed with how he handled this frustration and the level he played at, though.

"It was hard on him because he wants to play so much," said Barnes. "The medical staff was telling me when to let him play and when to take him out and all that. It frustrated him. But the fact that first time he's been out there, you can imagine the emotion that he feels because of who he is and how he goes about everything.

"Five assists and no turnovers, I told him that's a great way to start. Making shots, he's going to make shots. I'm not concerned about that with him. You can tell he was frustrated because he wants to play. We're going to still, again, do what we need to do to give him a chance to have the best year he can have. I think his minutes will continue to go up but we'll still watch it."

Next, Tennessee will travel to Madison to face off with Wisconsin on Friday. The Badgers sit just outside the AP Poll's top-25 and will pose a threat on their home court.

Zeigler is expected to play but once again will be limited in his minutes. Although he is still working to get back to action with no restraints, he's happy he's available to play.

"It felt good to be back," said Zeigler. "I've been waiting for that moment since the day I went down. Just felt really good to be back for Vol nation and for my bros."

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