Zakai Zeigler shares excitement over return of Josiah-Jordan James

Zakai Zeigler shared the same excitement that Tennessee faithful had for the return of Josiah-Jordan James to the court.

Injuries have plagued James’ season thus far, but the Volunteers star made his comeback to the hardwood Tuesday night against Mississippi State. Afterwards, Zeigler spoke about how it lit a fire under the entire team to see their teammate back in the fold.

“It felt really good. Honestly, when he dunked it, it got me flashbacks of the Arizona game last year, when he got that big dunk and everybody started going crazy,” stated Zeigler. “It was really good for him to be back. That’s my brother right there, and I’m just happy for him to be back on the court playing.”

Moreover, James was a big part of Tennessee’s rotation last season, making 39 starts and averaging 10.3 points and six rebounds per game. As the Volunteers look to pick up where they left off last season, getting him back in the lineup is a huge plus.

Alas, Josiah-Jordan James hope to pick up where he left off upon returning to full strength, with his next opportunity coming Saturday as the Volunteers face South Carolina. Zakai Zeigler and his teammates couldn’t be happier to have him back, and Tennessee could be hitting their stride.

Josiah-Jordan James discusses mental challenges of injury recovery

Moreover, Tennessee guard Josiah-Jordan James felt the support from the fans and his teammates as he made his return from injury Tuesday night against Mississippi State. 

James had missed eight of the past 10 games with a knee injury and had not played since Dec. 7 prior to Tuesday. In the postgame press conference following the Volunteers’ dominant 83-57 win, he admitted the past month had been tough on him, not only physically, but also mentally. 

However, his return and the response from the crowd lifted his spirits, and he feels ready to work his way back into a bigger role in the new few games.

“It’s been a lot,” James said. “It’s been really tough. But I give a lot of credit to my teammates, family and first and foremost, God. Without him I wouldn’t be in this position. It’s been a lot of dark days where I’m doing all the treatments that I need to and there was days where I felt like I wasn’t getting any better. So it was really frustrating. But like I said, credit to my teammates, coaches and my family. They never let me get too down on myself and I knew that, like everything, this storm will pass.

“To be greeted like I was today is hard to describe, but it gave me chills. Vol Nation is my home. I feel like I’m a part of Vol Nation and those guys and the fans are second-to-none. I feel the work that I put in and we put in on a daily basis, they just appreciate that and appreciate how I play hard. Just knowing that it doesn’t go unnoticed, it means a lot.”

James came off the bench to play 17 minutes, scoring eight points and dishing out four assists. It wasn’t the first time that the senior attempted a return from the injury, as he played two games in early December after sitting out three weeks beforehand. 

However, Josiah-Jordan James admitted he wasn’t completely healed when he made his first comeback from the injury, and it required the training staff to come together and develop a new recovery plan. Now he feels much better, and talked about what getting back on the court meant to him.

“Definitely a lot of relief and a lot of excitement,” he said. “Just knowing that I was gonna be able to be as close to my best as I can be with regards to my shape. I feel like I’ve got to get in much better shape to play the type of minutes that the team needs from me. But as far as my knee goes, that was really my only concern. To be able to go out and practice and work out, to be able to move around and not feel any pain was just so much relief. 

“I give a lot of credit to Chad (Newman) and (Garrett Medenwald) for sticking with me because I know it’s been not only a tough process for me but for them as well. They stayed up late at night trying to figure out ways and different things to do for me. So I give a lot of credit to them as well.”

On3’s Chandler Vessels contributed to this article.