No matter what happens between Tennessee Basketball and the Houston Cougars face off in the Elite Eight on Sunday, two things are already true. Rick Barnes is the greatest head coach in the history of the Vols program, Zakai Zeigler is the greatest point guard in program history, and Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack are the most accomplished in terms of team success.
You could have made a case for Bruce Pearl or Ray Mears over Barnes, albeit a thin one, before Friday’s Sweet 16 win over the Kentucky Wildcats. However, Barnes has now directed the Vols to seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances (excluding 2020 since it was canceled due to COVID).
Beyond that, he has directed them to four Sweet 16 appearances, three straight, and two straight Elite Eight appearances. Add in the fact that Tennessee Basketball has hit the 30-win mark twice under him and reached No. 1 in separate seasons while winning two SEC regular season titles and an SEC Tournament title, and the success is clear.
Before Barnes, the Vols had a grand total of one 30-win season, one week at No. 1 and one Elite Eight appearance in program history. The Vols have accomplished all of those things in just the past two years alone. This is by far the best two-year run in UT history, and that doesn’t include what Barnes did in 2018-19.
Perhaps the most impressive part of what Barnes did is reload after losing a generational talent. Dalton Knecht seemed like that rare type of player who could lead Barnes to a historic season last year, but he has matched that production this year despite losing two key players in December: J.P. Estrella to a season-ending injury and Cameron Carr to transfer.
Key to Barnes having this success, though, are his two senior backcourt players, Mashack and Zeigler, who have been with him since they were freshmen. There is no doubt that these are the two most successful team players in Tennessee Basketball history.
Before Zeigler and Mashack, some players had enjoyed one 30-win season at UT. Others had spent time at No. 1. There were SEC regular season and Tournament championships and even an Elite Eight appearance. Nobody accomplished any of those things more than once, though, and nobody accomplished all of those things.
Zeigler and Mashack have indeed accomplished all of those things and some more than once. They have led the program to three straight Sweet 16 appearances for the first time in school history along with back to back Elite Eights. Beating Kentucky Friday got them to the 30-win mark, the last thing somebody else at UT accomplished that they hadn’t.
Of course, Zeigler himself has in the process become the greatest point guard in UT history. He is officially the SEC’s all-time leader in career assists. A two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year and All-American this year, any all-time Tennessee Basketball starting five now has to include him.
When you take everything into account, the Vols may be able to make even greater history with their first ever Final Four appearance if they win Sunday, but Zeigler, Barnes and Mashack have already earned their stripes at UT. Zeigler and Barnes in particular stand on their own mountain tops.
