Zakai Zeigler took on increased leadership role heading into Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Following Tennessee's loss to South Carolina, Vols head coach Rick Barnes knew a change needed to be made.
At times, Barnes felt like he was the only voice that was getting on players and holding them accountable. Due to this, he challenged his junior point guard Zakai Zeigler to become the leader Tennessee needs.
This was critical in the wire-to-wire win over Kentucky in front of a sold-out Rupp Arena.
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"Well, in all honesty, I told him that I thought he had to change his demeanor," said Barnes on Zeigler. "I told him, I think he’s one of the best point guards in the country but I told him, the whole team at some point in time, I can’t be the only guy getting on guys. I said you’ve got to do that because I am relentless in terms of details and those types of things. But I said we can’t be a team that when we’re down saying to each other, ‘we’re good, we’re good,’ when it’s not good.
"I said, we’ve got to be transparent and you guys were at practice yesterday. The last two days, he did a great job where he took it on himself. He said, ‘Hey, I’m the guy that’s supposed to be driving this car and I’m going to make sure that guys are doing what they’re supposed to do when they’re supposed to do it,' and not, I’m going to let them know about it. So tonight, I thought he went through a stretch a little bit where he was trying to do a little bit too much, but overall, I thought he was terrific."
Zeigler took this challenge upon himself. He didn't see it as a shot at him, but rather Barnes showing the trust he has in him to lead the team.
This was on display multiple times throughout the 103-92 win. While the Vols never trailed, the Wildcats narrowed the lead within a possession and threatened to make a run down the stretch.
There was no panic in these moments, though. Zeigler was there to keep the team accountable.
"I just took it on the chin," said Zeigler. "I just took it as he has a lot of respect for me and trusts me with all the guys to keep them under control. When times get tough, even tonight when Kentucky started to come back a little bit, keep it under control. He trusts me with that. Just to have that confidence in me means a lot."
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Zeigler has no issue in this role. He doesn't even necessarily see it as being the 'bad guy.'
This comfort of getting onto his teammates and saying the tough things in high-stress moments comes from the relationship the group has off the floor. When there is a camaraderie that has been built and can be fallen back on, there's no fear of a player taking things the wrong way.
"Not really," said Zeigler on if he's uncomfortable in this role. "The only reason I would say that, too, is because we're really cool with each other. We're more cool off the court with each other than anything. Those guys, they have trust in me and I have trust in them. If we say anything or there's anything crazy, even if we were to get in a fight which none of us do, even if we was to get in a fight it'd be that and its over with. We all got a lot of love, trust and respect for each other."
On the night, Zeigler finished with 26 points and 13 assists in one of the better games of his career. Tying him for the team-high in scoring was Josiah-Jordan James who snapped out of his cold stretch in a triumphant matter.
For James, he knows in moments where he is being held accountable or when he is getting on teammates it is coming from a desire to win and a place of love. If the team wants to reach its lofty goals and make Tennessee history, these tough conversations need to happen.
"The biggest thing was just, we set out to accomplish a goal at the beginning of the season which was to first win the SEC regular season," said James. "And we have two losses that realistically we shouldn't have lost but credit to those two teams that beat us. It was just about not being in your feelings when guys and coaches get on you because at the end of the day, all we want to do is win. Just knowing that it comes from a place of love and a place of just competitiveness to want to win. That was the biggest thing. I would say that the energy before today's game was key and huge and everybody was just in the mindset of helping each other out, having each others' back and wanting to win."
Currently, Tennessee sits in fourth place in the SEC standings. However, the Vols have played just eight SEC contests compared to the nine the three teams ahead of them have already competed in.
For Tennessee to accomplish its goal of winning the SEC regular season title and entering the SEC and NCAA Tournaments at full speed, Zeigler and the other leaders will need to continue to answer Barnes' call to action.
There isn't much more room for error in the race for first place and another slip up against a team the Vols should beat could pull them out of the race for the top.
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