Rick Barnes after Zakai Zeigler's near triple-double: 'He is just invaluable with what he does'
Dalton Knecht heard Zakai Zeigler’s stat line Saturday night after Tennessee’s win over Texas A&M — the junior point guard finished with nine points, nine rebounds, 14 assists, four steals and zero turnovers — and put his play into context.
“He’s the best point guard in the nation,” Knecht said.
Seated just to Knecht’s right, Zeigler smiled and shook his head in agreement.
“Nice,” Zeigler said after Knecht finished.
“What?” Knecht asked. “It’s true.”
In the 86-51 win over the Aggies, Zeigler looked the part, flirting with a triple-double — there has been just one in Tennessee basketball program history, from Tyler Smith in 2008 — despite shooting just 3-for-10 from the field.
He was 1-for-4 from the 3-point line and 2-for-2 at the foul line in his 29 minutes. The nine rebounds and 14 assists were both career highs.
He checked out of the game for good alongside Knecht with 2:38 left, receiving an ovation from the home crowd and getting a hug from head coach Rick Barnes on his way out, barely aware of how close he came to the triple-double milestone.
“I found out right before I came out,” Zeigler said.
‘I told him I thought he played one of the worst games he has played since he has been here at Missouri’
What Zeigler was more focused on entering Saturday night, thanks to Barnes, was that his play against Missouri wasn’t good enough. Tennessee won 72-67 at Mizzou Arena, rallying from down seven points in the second half despite Zeigler not having his best night.
He scored 10 points and had three assists and a pair of turnovers, shooting 3-for-9 from the field. But he wasn’t good enough, and Barnes let him know.
“I told him I thought he played one of the worst games he has played since he has been here at Missouri,” Barnes said. “You could tell he had just great focus the last couple days getting ready.”
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Barnes described Zeigler as a player that takes everything personally. Yet he invites the critiques. Barnes told Zeigler he wasn’t playing with poise at Missouri. And when Zeigler watched the film, he agreed.
“I just didn’t play that same swag, I guess you could say,” Zeigler said. “I got a little bit rattled … I feel like he was just telling me how he should tell me, how he should treat me. Tell me what I’m doing wrong and tell me what I need to do better.”
Up Next: No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 11 Auburn, Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Against Texas A&M, he knew getting back to his old self meant he had to stay aggressive. Even if shots weren’t falling, his aggression would be the key to finding open teammates. And that’s exactly how it played out.
“He is a guy that impacts the game,” Barnes said. “If he makes shots, that is one thing, but him getting into the lane really spraying it the way he did and collapsing the defense and then giving guys the chance to catch it on the run and do some things.
“He is just invaluable with what he does. What can you say about a guy on the court getting nine rebounds like that? Yet he is distributing the ball the way he did. He is a special player.”
