Santiago Vescovi back with Tennessee basketball before season opener
Santiago Vescovi is back with Tennessee basketball before its season opener.
The Vols guard returned Wednesday after going to Uruguay for a family matter. He left Knoxville on Oct. 26 and missed UT's exhibition wins against Michigan State on Sunday and Lenoir-Rhyne on Tuesday, but is hopping back into practice Thursday.
"He's on autopilot right now from a sense of he knows what to do and what to expect and what the standard is," Vols associate coach Justin Gainey said Thursday. "I expect it to seamlessly flow with his transition (back)."
Gainey did not have an update on guard Zakai Zeigler, who did not play in UT's exhibitions as he continues to recover from ACL surgery in March. He expected Zeigler to practice Thursday as he has in recent weeks.
No. 9 Tennessee opens the season against Tennessee Tech on Monday (6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network+).
Santiago Vescovi in fifth season with Tennessee basketball
Vescovi was a preseason All-SEC selection after returning to Tennessee for a fifth season. He is a two-time All-SEC selection. He is averaging 11.6 points and shooting 38.1% on 3-pointers in 114 career games.
The Montevideo, Uruguay, native averaged 12.5 points and a career-high 4.6 rebounds as a senior last season. Vescovi made at least three 3-pointers in 11 of UT's final 13 games. He shot 37% on 3-pointers last season. He has shot better than 36% on 3-pointers in each season.
Vescovi posted career bests with 13.3 points per game and 40.3% 3-point shooting as a junior in 2021-22. He became the second player in UT history to hit 100 3-pointers in a season, joining Chris Lofton.
Zakai Zeigler has yet to make his season debut after ACL injury
Zeigler was voted preseason All-SEC after earning second-team All-SEC honors as a sophomore.
Zeigler averaged 10.7 points and 5.4 assists in 28.7 minutes per game last season. 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 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.
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: Tennessee basketball: Santiago Vescovi back with UT Vols before opener
