Zakai Zeigler provides injury update, timeline for surgery on torn ACL

Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler suffered a torn ACL on Feb. 28, right before the Volunteers began their postseason run, an unfortunate injury to one of the team’s brightest stars.

Zeigler accompanied the team to nearby Nashville for this week’s SEC Tournament.

“I’m feeling much better,” Zeigler told the SEC Network’s Marty Smith during the broadcast of Tennessee-Ole Miss on Thursday. “When it first happened I was going through a little bit of pain, having a lot of pain like falling asleep and little things like that. But I’m feeling much better now. I’m able to move in bed more. I’m not sure on surgery yet or a timeline but it’s going to be soon.”

Zeigler was averaging 10.7 points, 5.4 assist, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game for the Volunteers while running the point.

Tennessee has had to go makeshift in the backcourt, with a number of different guards getting some run as the primary ball-handler with Zeigler out. The least Zeigler could do, he said, was show up in support.

“Well these are my brothers, man,” he said. “We go through a lot together, off the court, on the court. And like I said, these are my brothers and I love them no matter what. I go through so much with them and I know they’ve got my back through whatever, so I just want to have their back too.”

Zakai Zeigler injury provides fresh perspective

If there’s one possible silver lining to Zakai Zeigler’s injury, it’s that he’s been able to look at things a little more dispassionately from the bench.

He’s starting to see more why coach Rick Barnes coaches certain things at certain times.

“I see a lot more just like mismatches and things like that,” Zeigler said. “If we keep running a play over and over again, we can run something else that might work. And coach Barnes has been trying to preach that to us. I haven’t seen that much on the court, but now that I’m on the sideline I see that a lot more why he calls certain plays at certain times.”

Zeigler will have a long road to recovery in front of him, but he’s confident he’s going to get through it. Everything up to this point has prepared him for a tough battle.

“It built me for this. Moments that I had off the court, it built me for moments like this,” Zeigler said. “That’s why I don’t really get rattled too much by fans heckling me or anything like that. I feel like everything happens for a reason, it’s all a part of God’s plan.”