Is it too early to start talking about Zakai Zeigler potentially being an All-American this campaign? Nope, not at all, as the Tennessee men's basketball guard has been brilliant for this team of late, powering the Vols to some key wins the past two games.
Early on in the season, sharpshooter Chaz Lanier was the one who was making all of the headlines and rightfully so. However, in the past two wins, it has been Zeigler who has been there to answer the call for this team with Lanier struggling from the floor.
Head coach Rick Barnes didn't hesitate in saying he's not worried about Lanier finding his shot sooner rather than later. At the same time, he couldn't be more thankful for the way Zeigler has been able to step up when things have been turbulent on the hardwood:
"Zakai has been an incredible blessing for me personally. I don't know what I would do without him. He's my comfort blanket."
— WBIR Sports (@WBIRSports) January 16, 2025
Zeigler posted a career-high six steals and became the program steals leader at Tennessee.
Rick Barnes on his point guard post game. #Vols pic.twitter.com/5dZ7iQWlKP
Rick Barnes is loving what he's seeing out of Zakai Zeigler this season
"Sometimes he gets so competitive and he’s so hard on himself, but I’ll tell you what, I don’t know what I do without him," Barnes said via On3's Volquest. "I mean, he’s my comfort blanket. He really is. At the end of the game, I’m glad we were able to finish without because this might be the least (amount of) minutes he’s played in a long time. What did he play? (31 minutes). I’ve always believed a point guard is like a quarterback. You gotta let him get a feel while they’re out there, and very few guys can do what he does, the way he impacts the game on both ends, his defense and how hard he is. But it’s a blessing to have had him with us."
In the win over No. 23 Georgia earlier in the week, Tennessee was down at halftime and plenty of people were worried that the second loss in three games would be on the way. However, Zeigler got hot in the second half, including a stretch where he went 3-for-3 on his 3-point attempts, sparking the offense.
In the end, the Vols were able to walk away with a dominant 74-56 win, with Zeigler scoring 16 points and Jordan Gainey scoring a team-high 19 points. In that victory, Zeigler also set the new program record for most steals in team history.
Eventually, Lanier is going to catch fire again and normal services will be resumed. Even when that does happen, Barnes will be ready to rely on Zeigler to keep playing at a high level from start to finish in games. He's his right hand man these days, no doubt.