Tennessee teammates, fans rally around Zakai Zeigler following family tragedy

Zakai Zeigler, a Tennessee freshman men’s basketball player from Long Island, N.Y., and his family suffered a tremendous loss that was shared on the SEC Network broadcast during the Georgia game on Tuesday.

The family house caught fire this week, and his mother is traveling with the team. The Tennessee athletics department has said that there will be details on Wednesday. Tennessee is asking everyone to wait and channel all of that help into one centralized place.

“This was the first time all year he hasn’t looked like Zakai, but it’s been a hard week for him. I’m glad he got to see his mom today,” coach Rick Barnes said after the game.

Zeigler had 2 points and 3 assists with 1 rebound in the 75-68 win.

Josiah-Jordan James had a message to Zeigler after the tragedy: “All I can say is life doesn’t always make sense, but everything happens for a reason and it’s all part of God’s plan. And then put my arm around him.”

#VolNation — tonight’s outpouring of support for Zakai and his family, though not surprising, has been incredible.

We will have more details tomorrow on how you can help. But in the meantime, please continue to share your love with Zakai 🧡

— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) March 2, 2022

H/T Wes Rucker.

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.