Going out with a bang.
Zakai Zeigler will exit Tennessee as an All-American. The Tennessee point guard was named to the third-team All American group today by the Associated Press.
Tennessee shooting guard Chaz Lanier was listed in the honorable mention section, just missing out on making the cut.
Zeigler is finishing up his final season in Knoxville, going from a truly overlooked prospect to one of the best players in the nation. Rick Barnes and his staff ended up stumbling upon Zeigler at Peach Jam, where Zeigler showed out. With one open scholarship left, Barnes pulled the trigger. Even he probably wouldn’t believe how well that decision turned out.
As Zeigler’s time comes to a close, he’ll be remembered as one of the best to ever do it in Knoxville. The undersized point guard is known for his defensive intensity and can now call himself Tennessee’s all time leader in steals. He’s currently fourth all time in assists in SEC play, ranking second in Tennessee history.
Zeigler is putting up his best season to date, averaging 13.8 points and 7.3 assists per game. The Long Island, New York native is putting up nearly two steals per game while shooting over 40 percent from the field.
The senior point guard now leads Tennessee to the NCAA Tournament, where they’ll open with No. 15 seed Wofford on Thursday evening.
AP All American teams
First team
G Mark Sears
G Walter Clayton
G Braden Smith
F Johni Broom
F Cooper Flagg
Second team
G John Tonje
G PJ Haggerty
G Kam Jones
G RJ Luis Jr.
F JT Toppin
Third team
G Zakai Zeigler
G LJ Cryer
F Eric Dixon
F Ryan Kalkbrenner
C Hunter Dickinson