What's next for Tennessee basketball without Zakai Zeigler at point guard

Santiago Vescovi’s Tennessee basketball career came full circle on Senior Night at Thompson-Boling Arena. After sophomore Zakai Zeigler was lost to a torn ACL early in Tuesday’s game against Arkansas, Vescovi was back at point guard. 

It was Lamonte Turner’s season-ending shoulder injury that forced Vescovi into the starting point guard spot in December 2019, despite the freshman having been on campus for just a week after enrolling early and joining the Vols in the middle of the season.

“I think he did a great job,” Olivier Nkamhoua said after Tennessee’s 75-57 win over Arkansas, “and it was good to see that he handled it as well as he did.”

Vescovi had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists in 38 minutes against the Razorbacks, finishing 5-for-11 from the field and 3-for-7 from the 3-point line as the primary ball-handler for the Vols.

Zakai Zeigler this season: 10.7 points, 5.3 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals in 28.7 minutes per game

Josiah-Jordan James and Jahmai Mashack shared in the point guard duties during the game. Mashack matched a season-high with five assists, to go with six points and four steals in 24 minutes. James, in his second game back from missing four in a row due to a left ankle sprain, had 11 points, three rebounds and three steals in 29 minutes.

“I thought Jahmai Mashack did a good job tonight handling the ball for us when he was in there,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said during his postgame press conference. “Obviously, we won’t rely on one person to do it as much, which is fine.”

Tennessee (22-8, 11-6 SEC) is expected to have graduate-transfer senior Tyreke Key available at Auburn (19-10, 9-7) on Saturday (2 p.m. Eastern Time; ESPN) in the regular-season finale, after Key missed the last two games with a right ankle issue.

“We need him to get back,” Barnes said of Key, who has handled the ball at times this season. “We know what he is capable of. We will do it I guess by committee if that is how you look at it, but we have always kind of done that the last couple years.”

James was a five-star combo guard in the 2019 recruiting cycle, but grew up playing point guard despite his 6-foot-6 game. Seeing James running point Tuesday night is when the flashbacks started to kick in for Nkamhoua. 

“That’s when I was really looking back, thinking of freshman year,” Nkamhoua said. “I really noticed Jo more being out there running point than I did with Santi. Santi does do it every once in a while anyway. But when Jo got out there and ran point, I was like yup, that ain’t happened in a long time.”

“You think about it,” Barnes added, “Josiah and Santi were our point guards four years ago. They played it. Josiah, when he first came in, did that as much as anybody because we needed him to do it.”

Mashack has his own history at point guard dating back to his prep career in California.

“A lot of guys that knew me when I was playing in high school,” Mashack said, “that was a (position) I did play a lot. Trying to bring up the ball, facilitate, get to the basket when I could.”

Mashack has taken advantage of his increased minutes in recent weeks, when both James and Julian Phillips were sidelined with injuries. He has 39 points, 13 assists, 10 steals and nine rebounds over his last four games, averaging 29.0 minutes per game.

“He sees the court well and he’s going to continue to get better and better offensively,” Barnes said. “He’s a big part of who we are right now and we need him desperately. 

“He’s come a long way. He has. You can see it. He’s confident. You can see it in his preparation now. He knows he belongs out there and it’s just a matter of him continuing to get better.”

Up Next: No. 12 Tennessee at Auburn, Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN

Freshman BJ Edwards didn’t play against Arkansas Tuesday but has been given more opportunities of late, appearing in the previous three games — at Kentucky, at Texas A&M and South Carolina — after playing six minutes against Missouri on February 11, his first playing time since January 25 against Georgia.

“I’m not going to count out BJ Edwards either,” Barnes said. “… He’s improved tremendously here in the last month. I’m sure we’ll need him going forward, too.”

Tennessee lost its lead point guard against Arkansas, but the Vols still have options at the position.

“They know what we do,” Barnes said. “Those guys have really good basketball IQ, they know what our offense is looking for. We’ve always told them, the more positions you can know from an execution standpoint is going to give you more of a chance to play.”

The point guard-by-committee approach, as Barnes explained it Tuesday night, is just another adjustment after yet another injury for this Tennessee basketball team.

“What we’ve gone through, guys have had to adjust roles here and there,” Barnes said. “I just think they have a confidence about themselves that regardless of what comes our way, we’re going to find a way to work through it.”