Rick Barnes: Zakai Zeigler's response 'unbelievable' against Florida Gulf Coast
After the bus ride back from Nashville on Sunday, a few hours removed from Rick Barnes telling the world that Zakai Ziegler had lost his job as Tennessee’s starting point guard after a sloppy start in a lifeless loss to Colorado, the head coach’s phone started ringing.
“As soon as we got back here,” Barnes said Wednesday night, “he called me and said, ‘Coach, tell me what I need to do.’ I told him, ‘I’m going to tell you what I’ve been telling you for a year and a half now. You can’t get away from who you are.’”
Who Zeigler was in No. 22 Tennessee’s 81-50 win over Florida Gulf Coast included a game-high 32 minutes played off the bench. He had six points, six rebounds, an assist and two more turnovers. He shot just 2-for-7 from the field, 1-for-4 from the 3-point line and 1-for-3 at the free-throw line.
But it was less about the stat line and more about the response. It was Zeigler getting back to being the sixth man who provided the spark off the bench.
“I thought he was unbelievable,” Barnes said. “That’s the Zakai Ziegler that we know. He came in the game, just a year ago, that’s what he did. I mean the whole tempo of the game changed.
“And the guys that started were fine, but even a year ago, with Kennedy (Chandler) in the game, when (Zeigler) came in, it just went to a different level. I just really appreciate him.”
Zakai Zeigler responds in 81-50 win over FGCU
Senior forward Olivier Nkamhoua said it’s nothing more than accountability. It’s a standard in the Tennessee basketball program. And it starts with Barnes.
“Coach Barnes is going to hold us accountable,” Nkamhoua said after scoring 18 points Wednesday. “The assistant coaches will hold us accountable. We are an older team. We are getting better every day. We have been getting better since I got here at holding each other accountable.”
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Zeigler had to take accountability for the two turnovers he had in the first two minutes against Colorado Sunday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena. It set the tone in a 78-66 loss.
He scored 12 points, but it was on 4-for-12 shooting. The Vols made just 16 of 63 shots from the floor as a team, going 10-for-37 from the 3-point line.
Zeigler played 34 minutes, but he wasn’t the same player that showed up night in and night out during his breakout freshman season.
That was the point Barnes was trying to make.
“We talked about his DNA,” Barnes said, looking back on his conversation with Zeigler, “and how infectious it is on our team.”
“Z,” Barnes added, “that’s who he is. What he did tonight.”
Up Next: Vols vs. Butler, Battle 4 Atlantis, Nov. 23
That’s who Barnes is, too.
“You guys know coach,” Nkamhoua told reporters. “He will hold people accountable. It is nothing he will say to the media that he won’t say to your face. It is nothing new. We knew what coach was going to say. He had already said it to us.”
Including Zeigler losing his starting job publicly, just moments after the loss to Colorado.
“It is nothing,” Nkamhoua said. “We don’t really worry about what is going on in the media. We are here. We hear from each other first then you guys hear about it later.”
