Rick Barnes provides update on Zakai Zeigler's rehab process

The Tennessee Volunteers men’s basketball team took a huge hit this past season after star guard Zakai Zeigler was lost for the season after tearing his ACL against Arkansas in late February. Since then, Zeigler has undergone successful ACL surgery and is on the path to recovery. Recently, as the program started its summer basketball training camps, Volunteers’ head coach Rick Barnes provided an update on his star guard’s rehab progress.

“I think, if you asked him, he would tell you right now he wants to practice today. I mean, when we first started, we came out doing some simple passing drills, and he wanted to jump right in,” said Barnes. “And we have to keep holding back. I think if you talked to Chad and Garrett, they’d both tell you he’s ahead of where he wants to be. But we’re not going to let him come back until we know that he’s 100 percent ready, and that won’t be until late in the fall, probably.”

Zeigler was the motor of the Tennessee offense before going down for the season. At the time of his injury, he was averaging 5.5 assists per game which was tops in the SEC and also top 20 in the nation. Now he’s trying to work himself back into game shape, and he looks to be well on his way there. But Barnes is not going to take any chances when it comes to his recovery process.

“He’s itching. And again, he would tell you right now his left leg is stronger than his right leg, which is obviously a good thing. You’ve seen him play, and you know what’s in his DNA. I think he’s going at this rehab the way you would expect him to do. He’s been a model patient in terms of doing it. But he is impatient because he thinks he’s ready, which won’t let that happen. We gotta kind of table with him, and we’ll stick to that.”

There’s still a long road ahead until Tennessee starts the 2023-2024 season; their schedule for next season has yet to come out. Although Zeigler is itching to get back out there with his teammates, Barnes is going to ensure that his guard is in the best possible shape to practice and compete before putting them back out there. And that is the best course of action for Zeigler’s overall health and the success of Tennessee in the upcoming season.