Zakai Zeigler reflects on injury, recovery one year later

Zakai Zeigler crossed over and stepped back.

The spot was a familiar one. Just feet away from the part of the floor where his season ended one year to the day, Zeigler fired off a 3-pointer that extended Tennessee's lead to four just before halftime against Auburn on Wednesday.

For the Vols' junior guard, it did more than just provide his team with a spark in a top 15 showdown with heavy SEC title implications. It was the culmination of a 365-day journey from the lowest point in his career to putting Tennessee on the cusp of a conference championship.

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Zeigler, who scored 17 points and totaled nine assists in the Vols' 92-84 victory against the Tigers, is playing some of his best basketball in late February. It was uncertain a year ago how long it would take him to get back tot he court, though.

Following his ACL tear just minutes into the first half against Arkansas on Feb. 28, 2023, Zeigler spent the next several months rehabbing. His minutes were limited early this season, but he was back to his old self before the calendar turned to the new year.

"God is great. That's all I can really say," Zeigler said. "It was tough, you know, last year, going down. Fought through adversity. People around me, they just picked me up. God is great, man. That's all I can really say about it."

Tennessee (22-6, 12-3 SEC) is primed for a deep run in March, though it still has a few regular season challenges left to face, including another top-15 tilt with No. 14 Alabama on Saturday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) in a game between the league's two first-placed teams.

But Zeigler has shown how high the Vols' ceiling can be. He has provided the second part of a seemingly unstoppable one-two punch with superstar guard Dalton Knecht, who put on another second half spectacular with 39 points vs. Auburn.

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Knecht has been the missing link that past Rick Barnes' teams haven't had, a player that can take over a game down the stretch when shots aren't falling elsewhere. Having Zeigler, who is averaging an SEC-best 5.9 assists per game, has helped facilitate that.

Tennessee's halftime lead turned into an eight-point deficit with less than 13 minutes left before Knecht went on one of his patented scoring runs, recording 25 points over the final 12 minutes to put the Vols in front for good.

"We knew the whole time we were going to win the game," Zeigler said. "We kept saying in the huddle that it's a two possession game and we're going to win it...Just keeping that in our mind even the shots weren't falling."

Zeigler gave his teammate an A-plus letter grade while likely short-changing his own contributions, maybe because he was too focused on four early turnovers despite having none in the last 24 minutes of regulation.

Knecht, though cited Zeigler's on-court presence, which Tennessee was missing in its Sweet 16 run last season. Having Zeigler there will be as important as any scoring performance to this Tennessee team over the next couple of weeks.

"I'll give (Zeigler) an A-minus," Knecht said. "What he does doesn't show up on the stat sheet."

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