Rick Barnes' reaction during Tennessee basketball's Senior Day festivities hit home just how important his senior guards are to him
There's no doubt that Tennessee men's basketball head coach Rick Barnes loves his players. But with this group of outgoing seniors, it's hard to argue there's been a more meaningful group of players that have impacted him than this group. And that includes in large part senior PG Zakai Zeigler. The relationship that the coach […]
There's no doubt that Tennessee men's basketball head coach Rick Barnes loves his players. But with this group of outgoing seniors, it's hard to argue there's been a more meaningful group of players that have impacted him than this group.
And that includes in large part senior PG Zakai Zeigler. The relationship that the coach and his floor general have is a special one, and one that's been obvious for years.
And so, during Senior Day festivities following the Vols' 75-65 win over South Carolina on Saturday in Knoxville, Barnes let out a touch of the softer side that few rarely see publicly as Zeigler was announced.
"Zakai is special," Barnes said during his press conference after the game. "I think about him, and I back to his first year here when he came in, and I remember we were in the Sweet Sixteen game, and I think we had him and Kennedy and Santi on the floor even at that point in time in the game, and I'll most remember he had an incredible freshman year, and hadn't had a bad game all year, had played well, had never seen him show any emotion whatsoever. And we were in Georgia, and that was a day or so after – remember, his house caught on fire in New York – and when his mom walked into the game, he lost it and played his first bad game I ever saw him play.
"But when you – and I've talked about it in front of his teammates – if you really know his background and where he is, you can't help but love him in more ways than you can imagine because of what he's been able to do for his family, and that's where the NIL has been a wonderful thing because he's done so much to make it better for his family."
Zeigler isn't the only player that got Barnes a bit emotional on Saturday afternoon. Jahmai Mashack and his family shared warm embraces, with Barnes again appearing to wipe tears away as his senior guard was announced. Mashack also drew praise from Barnes for his continuing effort and supportive family.
"It's just going to be different because (Zeigler) has been a guy every day in practice, I knew what he was going to do. And Jahmai. Coaches don't want to coach effort. You'd like to think every guy comes out there with max effort, but the fact is they don't. But we have two of them that pretty much did that for four years, and I can say this past year that Jordan took it to that level. I wish that Igor and D-Stone and Chaz, we could have had just one more year with them because they're such great kids, but it's just such a big jump from where they were to here, but there's no doubt with a little more time they would have fallen right into that group as well.
"If you all knew the loyalty that Jahmai's family have given to me and our staff, and Zakai's – obviously the Gaineys didn't have a choice. The fact is those two families have been as loyal to us as any two families I've ever been around. In an era where it's easy to say, 'we're going to go try something else', they never wavered with that. They wanted to be here."
Barnes, despite the warm embraces, admits he's been tough on his players, and that's not a false statement by any means. It's something that Tennessee fans have known from on court criticism to comments after the game regarding performances. Barnes has never been shy of stating publicly that he believes a player has more in him or didn't play to his potential. And he knows his criticism has gotten to Zeigler and Mashack before.
"Going back to Jahmai and Z, it is emotional," Barnes said. "I got emotional with them because I know how hard I've been on them. And I know there's days they've walked out of this building probably not wanting to see me again. But they never showed that side. I know how they had to feel, because I was tough on them. But I love them, and I also know this. When they went back and they called their parents, their parents had my back, too, which I appreciate."
It's been a special season for both the Vols and for Zeigler and Mashack personally. Zeigler, who has career highs in points and assists per game this year, was named a Bob Cousy Award finalist last week to be given to the nation's top point guard. He will also likely break the Tennessee single season assists record next week during the SEC Tournament.
Mashack etched himself into Tennessee basketball lore with a buzzer-beating 35-foot three to shock Alabama 79-76 on March 1. But that was one moment of many big contributions from Mashack, who has had career highs in points, rebounds, and steals while providing one of the most suffocating presences on the defensive end of the floor for Tennessee.
We'll see if Barnes and his senior guards can end their time together in orange in memorable fashion as Tennessee begins its postseason play starting next week in Nashville.
Ole Miss fans threw trash onto the court against Tennessee once again, but the SEC and national media likely won’t cast the same judgment as they did against the Vols
Ole Miss continued to launch trash onto the court with the Vols in town
