What Zakai Zeigler Could Be In 2023

On day one of the NCAA Tournament, the Tennessee Volunteers won't have their leader, Zakai Zeigler. While Zeigler will watch from the sidelines today, he's in for a big 2023.

Despite guard Zakai Zeigler's impressive improvement, the season didn't end as many anticipated. On senior night in the first half of the Vols' last home game against Arkansas, Zeigler suffered a sidelining knee injury that left him out for the remainder of the game.

Later doctors confirmed that the knee injury turned into a torn ACL. This meant that the Long Island native's season was over. Since the injury, Zeigler has missed the final home game against Auburn and Tennessee's two games in the SEC Tournament. The Volunteers are 1-2 thus far without Zeigler.

Zeigler ended the year as the SEC's assist leader averaging 5.4 a game. He had five games this season with double-digit assists, and all of those games were double-doubles. He also saw an improvement in scoring from his freshman season by starting in many more games. His average went from 8.8 points a game to 10.7 points a game.

Zeigler is also not shy about his three-point shot either. This season he shot 164 three-pointers. Although his percentage was low (31.1%), it is good to see that Zeigler is ready to take big steps in his career.

A massive step will be next year for his junior season. Zeigler will be one of, if not the top, leader of this Volunteers team, with six seniors this season departing. This means he is one of a few guys who saw lots of playing time this year and is returning next season. In his junior season, Zeigler will become even more of a commanding presence for this team.

He will be a massive court general for coach Barnes and his team. The scoring and facilitating will have to be present, and if they are, Zeigler may quickly become the face at the helm that steers the Tennessee basketball program to more success in the next few years. 

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