Tennessee basketball has released 60-minute special on Zakai Zeigler.
Tennessee basketball has officially released its 60-minute special on the life and college career of point guard Zakai Zeigler.
The video, ‘Bet On Me’ released at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 18, on the Tennessee Athletics YouTube channel
Featured in the special were interviews with the likes of Zeigler, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes, former Vols assistant Mike Schwartz, Tennessee teammate Josiah-Jordan James and his mother, Charmane Zeigler.
“So much of what happened in his here, he deserves the majority of credit for it,” Barnes said in the special.
Zeigler played all four seasons at Tennessee, quickly becoming a fan favorite.
Standing at just a listed 5-foot-9, his pesty defense earned him consecutive SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. He was also a finalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year as a senior alongside Jahmai Mashack. This was the first time a pair of teammates were ever in the group of four finalists.
As a senior, he earned multiple All-American honors and was a First-Team All-SEC player. This came on averages of 13.6 points, 7.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game.
He shot 40.4% from the field and 32.2% on 3-pointers during the campaign. He started in all 37 contests he appeared in while missing one game.
The result of the Zeigler-led squad was a back-to-back trip to the Elite Eight. Zeigler was a major part of two of Tennessee’s three Elite Eight appearances due to making the round the year prior, as well.
As a junior on that Elite Eight squad, Zeigler started in 30 games and appeared in 36. He averaged 11.8 points per game to go with 6.1 assists and 2.8 rebounds.
He was a First-Team All-SEC member that year along with his first of two SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
As a sophomore, Zeigler started in 15 of his 30 appearances. His season was cut short, though, due to an ACL injury late in the year.
He still managed to crack the SEC All-Defense team while averaging 10.7 points per game with 5.4 assists and 2.7 rebounds.
As a freshman, Zeigler played in 35 games and started one. He averaged 8.8 points, 2.7 assists and 1.9 rebounds while sharing time with fellow freshman point guard Kennedy Chandler.
