This is Volunteer country. Where Uber drivers pull up proudly rocking their Tennessee orange and where stripes are always in season. Where high schoolers peek through the tempered glass of a closed-off gym trying to catch a glimpse of three of the best guards in the country. Where the Tennessee mens basketball team has instilled a different type of energy throughout the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. Thats in part due to the dominant backcourt trio that led this years squad to tie the best start in program history, when it stormed out the gates to 14-0.
One member of that trio is leading the SEC in dimes with 7.6 a night. Anothers dropping 18.4 per game on anyone silly enough to drop back from the three-point line. And the thirds got a knack for silencing student sections and ending games with the flick of his wrist. Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey have got the Tennessee Volunteers sitting at No. 6 in the AP poll as they venture deeper into a stacked SEC conference lineup.
For the past two and a half months, theyve been stitching their contributions to the cultural fabric of Tennessee hoops under the direction of legendary head coach Rick Barnes. The chemistry and connectivity thats been witnessed through 19 games didnt just click one day. The programs star guards have been building toward this since the summer, featuring months and months of 1 on 1s.
Oh, me and JG, every single day in practice, Zakai says. Im telling you, people dont understand, we go at each other like we dont know each other. Like, we be talking trash, we be talking crazy to each other. Start fouling, well start doing stuff outside of basketball. But you know, just being that competitor, we understand that when we go against each other like that, when we go out on the court and play against somebody we dont know, its gonna be like, Oh this aint nothin.
The runs are competitive. Like very competitive, Zakai says, while reflecting on the outcomes of their past intensity. The Vols are living by the mantra iron sharpens iron. The results are in the 17-2 record theyve established and their respective moments of brilliance. Jordans game-winning layup on the road in Champaign. Chazs 29-piece against then-No. 23 Arkansas. Zakais 6 steals against Georgia.
Alongside the commanding presence of both Igor Milicic Jr and Felix Okpara, with Jahmai Mashack, Darlinstone Dubar and Cade Phillips bolstering the rotation, the Vols are laser-focused on reaching the national championship. And to get there, the SECs reigning Defensive Player of the Year knows that his teams energy starts with what he brings to the floor. For Zakai Zeigler, thats baseline to baseline, surveying and attacking across all 94 feet of the hardwood.
I feel like if Im bringing that energy in the backcourt, picking up guys and slowing the ball down, it gives everyone else confidence on the defensive end and it just picks the energy up, Zakai says. I would say yeah, I put a little pressure on myself and expectations, but I wouldnt even consider that as pressure. I would just say its something that I do every day and that Im used to doing. I know if its going to help my teammates out, help my brothers out, then Im gonna do it for sure.
The Long Island, NY, native has been orchestrating both sides of the ball for the Vols since the tail end of his sophomore campaign. Ever since then, its been a flurry of defensive masterclasses, perfectly timed passes and the necessary amount of heroics with the rock in his hands as the starting point guard. He can heat up instantly, like when he willed the Vols to a 4-point win over Texas after posting 6 points in the final minute of the game. He beats opponents to their spot with a single slide, picks their pockets and then flies past with ease before setting up a teammate for a wide-open look.
Tennessees two-way stalwart is averaging 12.2 points. 7.6 assists and 2.1 steals a game. But the influence and leadership that exists through his play cant be quantified, only felt.
I would say Syracuse, that was a game where my energy was really high. I remember one point in time in the game, I told JG, Yo, Im turnt up right now. Im active right now. He remembers what Im talking about, Zakai says, while Jordan affirms. Facts.
Just moments like that I know Im picked up or Im turnt up whether Im making a shot or not, its going to pick everybody else around me up, Zakai adds.
Empowering his teammates extends to every aspect of the game, especially from the bench. Case in point, a mid-December slugfest against Illinois in enemy territory. Widely remembered in Knoxville as the Jordan Gainey game.
Chaz had put up 17 but fouled out with a little over three minutes remaining, while Zakai sat next to him after also fouling out. Nerves and stress didnt exist, even with the score tied at 64 apiece with just 5.7 seconds left in the game. The two guards felt nothing but confidence as Jordan inbounded the ball and instantly received the rock back, going coast-to-coast in just four dribbles before laying it off the glass as time expired with a mob of Tennessee orange surrounding him on the baseline. Twenty-three on the night, 18 in the final 14 minutes.
Having moments of success like that, I look back at the first time I stepped foot on a college campus. My freshman year, I was at USC Upstate; just being able to see the journey that Ive had and how Ive come here. The path that Ive gone through has helped me in moments like that, Jordan says.
The 6-4 former All-Big South First Team honoree spent the first two years of his collegiate career out in Valley Falls, SC, leading USC Upstate in points (15.1) and steals (1.9) as a sophomore. And for the past two seasons, hes found a home in Knoxville as the sixth man off the bench playing starter minutes. The transfer portals been good to Tennessee. Like, real good. New means of buckets continue to be discovered, including the reliable scoring punch of fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier.
After dominating the ASUN conference at North Florida last season, the former Tennessee Mr. Basketball finalist found his way back to his home state this past summer. The portal was chaotic, Chaz admits. But once the Vols got involved, the Nashville native knew the situation he was waiting for had arrived.
I knew the opportunity was going to be special. And then on my official visit, when I came to Tennessee, all the guys were surrounding me in the locker room. We had a good little celebration. I just knew it was home. Chaz says. I knew that Id be joining something that was bigger than me.
We havent even hit the midway point of conference play and No. 2 has already cemented himself as one of the best scorers in the country. Less than an inch of space is needed for the 6-5 guard to have the confidence to launch it. Miami caught a clinic featuring 22 points strictly off jumpers. Baylor got scorched by seven of his threes. Fading one dribble pulls off the pick-and-roll are automatic. The averages: 18.4 points, 3.2 boards, 1.2 steals. Yup, he locks up too.
The standard for this team is definitely toughness, Chaz says. Knowing theyre in the foxhole with you and that youll do anything for your brother.
The established feeling of a brotherhood is shared throughout the roster. Its felt inside the gym of Farragut High School where Chaz, Jordan and Zakai pose for flicks and fall into bouts of laughter as they reminisce on their memories from the season. The scene is just a snapshot of a much larger picture that hangs 17 miles down the road. In between the soul food dinners, endless battles during practice and the countless 1s played afterward, theyve laid the foundation for the teams ultimate goal. Toughness and perseverance will light the way.
When the seasons closed, I want [us] to be remembered as a national champion and nothing less than that, Zakai says. Yeah, we want an SEC championship. We want an SEC tournament championship. But were going for the big trophy. We made history already with starting off the best in over 100 years, but were looking at something bigger than that.
Portraits by Horizon Media Group.
