Could Zakai Zeigler be ready for Tennessee basketball season opener?
Rick Barnes isn't committing in September to Zakai Zeigler playing in Tennessee basketball's season opener. But the Vols coach would not be surprised if the guard was on the court come November.
"I see him every day and he tells me, 'I'm good, I'm ready to go,'" Barnes said Monday at the Rick Barnes Emerald Youth Golf Classic. "But I know that even if he wasn't, he'd say that.”
Barnes has spent the offseason lauding the manner in which Zeigler has approach his ACL rehab. That was once again the case Monday when Barnes praised the junior as the "perfect model."
His belief that Zeigler could be available when UT hosts Tennessee Tech on Nov. 6 at Thompson-Boling Arena stems from who Zeigler is and that way he has handled the months since his Feb. 28 injury. He is leaving the decisions on when Zeigler returns to trainer Chad Newman, strength and conditioning coach Garrett Medenwald and the team doctors.
The Vols return to practice Tuesday. Barnes said Zeigler has "done a little bit with us" in recent weeks. The Vols continue to err on the cautious side with the speedy guard even if that isn't as quickly as Zeigler desires.
Zeigler suffered a torn ACL in his left knee on Feb. 28 against Arkansas. He had surgery in Knoxville on March 13 to repair the ligament and has been rehabbing during the offseason. He did not play during UT's three-game international trip to Italy in early August.
"The biggest fear that we all would have is that he comes back too soon and it would linger throughout the season," Barnes said. "That's the one thing we want to avoid. We want him to be able to be who he is and because he only knows one way to go and that's full speed, full throttle."
Freshman forward J.P. Estrella has missed the past couple weeks with a fractured finger, Barnes said. Freshman forward Cade Phillips is practicing after spending the summer rehabbing a right shoulder injury that required surgery.
Zeigler averaged 10.7 points and 5.4 assists in 28.7 minutes per game as a sophomore to earn to earn All-SEC second-team honors. He rapidly developed into a star point guard in SEC play and had five double-doubles, including a 13-point, 11-assist effort against South Carolina on Feb. 25. He was injured the following game, tumbling to the court in the opening minutes with a noncontact injury after driving on the baseline. He had to be helped off the court.
Zeigler traveled with UT for the remainder of the regular season before having surgery. The New York City native rejoined the Vols for the Sweet 16 at Madison Square Garden after missing the first weekend in Orlando following his surgery.
Zeigler went from little-known recruit to breakout star as a freshman, earning all-freshman and all-defensive team honors. He averaged 8.8 points and shot 35.2% on 3-pointers as a freshman.
Tennessee and Michigan State will play an Oct. 29 exhibition in East Lansing, Michigan, with all proceeds from the game to be donated to the Hawai'i Community Foundation Maui Strong Fund to provide financial resources to the relief efforts from the devastating Maui wildfires. It also has an exhibition at Thompson-Boling Arena against Lenoir-Rhyne on Oct. 31.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Zakai Zeigler: Rick Barnes on Vols guard's ACL recovery, timeline
