Tennessee Volunteers guard Zakai Zeigler has been crowned SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
Tennessee has had a player win a big-time award inside of the SEC. Tennessee star basketball guard Zakai Zeigler was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year on Monday. The junior was on pace to win this award last season; however, an injury was a big setback to his national award case. He didn’t take a step back despite having the ACL tear late in the season, which sidelined him for the rest of the year.
He made a full comeback and has been electric since. The 5-foot-9 guard is naturally gifted in terms of basketball IQ, as he is extremely smart with the ball in his hands and is a certified floor general. He has also developed a three-point shot that is near automatic at times, as he is arguably the best player on the court all around. Offensive is elite for Zeigler; however, his defense is the true pinpoint factor in his game as he is easily one of, if not the toughest, perimeter defensive players in the country. He has no issue pressing up and shows no weakness running through a screen despite people claiming he may be too small for the next level. Zeigler averaged 1.9 steals throughout the regular season, which led the team. This is only .1 less than his average last season.
Zeigler will have a big role in the post-season, as the Vols are only guaranteed two more games. Their SEC tournament schedule starts in the quarterfinals as they secured a two-game bye in which they are the No. 1 seed across the SEC. They are pushing for a high seed in March, and if they can win the tournament, they may even find themselves as a No. 1 seed there, too. At least for the past few years, I know it’s commonly said, but this year feels like the best chance to win it all.
