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Watch: Zakai Zeigler goes through drills as ACL rehab continues

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•07/28/23•

GrantRamey

Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler
Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images

Tennessee basketball offered an updated on Zakai Zeigler’s return from ACL surgery with a video posted on social media on Thursday, showing the junior point guard going through individual dribbling and shooting drills at Pratt Pavilion.

Zeigler went to his left, his right and straight ahead while taking six shots during the 21-second video from Tennessee basketball.

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said before a practice on July 12 that Zeigler would already be back on the practice floor with his teammates if it were left up to him.

“If you ask him, he’d tell you right now he wants to practice today,” Barnes said. “When we first started we came out doing some simple passing drills and he wanted to jump right in and we have to keep holding him back.” 

Zakai Zeigler last season: 10.7 points, 5.3 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals

Zeigler suffered the non-contact injury early against Arkansas on February 28 at Thompson-Boling Arena, had surgery in mid March and, ever since then, the feedback about his rehab has been that it’s moving in the right direction.

“I think if you talk to (trainer) Chad (Newman) and (strength coach) Garrett (Medenwald) they’d both tell you he’s ahead of where he wants to be,” Barnes said, “but we’re not going to let (him) come back until we know he’s 100% ready and that won’t be until late in the fall probably.

“But he’s itching and he would tell you right now his left leg is stronger than his right leg which is obviously a good thing.”

Back in March, when Tennessee was at Madison Square Garden in New York for the Sweet Sixteen, Zeigler set “August or September” as his own timetable for return.

“That’s my personal goal,” Zeigler said at the time. “I just want to push toward that. Not so much being able to be fully active, but to be able to move around and just try to get on the court somewhat.”

Rick Barnes: ‘We have a timetable with him and we’ll stick with that timetable’

Tennessee’s full regular-season schedule has not yet been released, but the Vols have an early test at Wisconsin on November 10, will play in a loaded Maui Invitational field November 20-22 and will go to North Carolina on November 29.

“I plan on being back next season,” Zeigler said in March, “before we start.”

Tennessee will play three exhibition games in Italy on August 4, 5 and 7, will start preseason practice in either late September or early October and will scrimmage at Michigan State in late October. 

Barnes said earlier this month that Tennessee has a timeline set for Zeigler as he continues to rehab and the Vols will stay with it.

“You guys have seen him play,” he said. “You know what’s in his DNA. I think he’s gone at this rehab the way you would expect him to do. He’s been a model patient in terms of doing it but he is impatient because he’s ready but we obviously won’t let that happen. 

“We have a timetable with him and we’ll stick with that timetable.”

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