Is Zakai pacing to be the greatest PG in program history?

[VolVandelay]

Assuming he stays healthy this yr and maintains production.. have to make the distinction between ‘greatest’ vs ‘best’ b/c he may not be the best PG we have ever had from a skill standpoint, but he is up there in terms of overall production, team success, personal accolades, etc.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Rodney Woods. Johnny Darden. Danny Schultz. Billy Hann. Tony Harris. Bobby Maze. Dickie Johnston. Tony White was a PG at times… especially when Fred was injured. Chandler and Bone had they stuck around.

 

[SaltyBro]

He will end up being the most loved for sure. (Already is in my book)

 

[Chaz-Vol]

Talent? Certainly debatable. Winningest? Not sure any other PGs in UT history have elite 8, regular season title, SEC tourney title under their belts.

 

[rdk4121]

CJ Watson has to be on the list on great Tennessee PGs. ZZ probably will be the most accomplished given the SEC champs, elite 8, All-SEC defense, etc.

 

[GrayWaterCanine]

Jay Price. Need I say more?

 

[JRVOL11]

i think he’s done enough to deserve top 5. will have a big year this upcoming season.

 

[Volfan1000]

Rodney Woods. Johnny Darden. Danny Schultz. Billy Hann. Tony Harris. Bobby Maze. Dickie Johnston. Tony White was a PG at times… especially when Fred was injured. Chandler and Bone had they stuck around.

Tyrone Beaman and C.J. Watson were solid point guards.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

Rodney Woods. Johnny Darden. Danny Schultz. Billy Hann. Tony Harris. Bobby Maze. Dickie Johnston. Tony White was a PG at times… especially when Fred was injured. Chandler and Bone had they stuck around.

Maze was HUGE in that elite 8 run in 2010

 

[Chris4Vols22]

Zeigler is definitely in the conversation imo. My personal favorite PG is Jordan Bone for sure. Chandler was such a treat to watch as well.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

Zeigler is definitely in the conversation imo. My personal favorite PG is Jordan Bone for sure. Chandler was such a treat to watch as well.

Wish Bone would have stuck around 1 more year

 

[Vawlk Tuah]

If he has the same production as last year he is 2 all time in assists and it's 23 away from the top. Easy steal king. 1400pts. On top of the conference titles and post season awards I'd say you can argue yes. He's an all time great.

 

[CAVPUT]

Rodney Woods. Johnny Darden. Danny Schultz. Billy Hann. Tony Harris. Bobby Maze. Dickie Johnston. Tony White was a PG at times… especially when Fred was injured. Chandler and Bone had they stuck around.

Yep. Hard to not go with Watson, White and Woods, but if ZZ has the year we all hope and expect, he'd be right there in the conversation.

 

[Shadowboxer]

Tony Harris and CJ Watson have been the best point guards that I have seen in my lifetime at Tennessee. I'll always have love for Brandon Wharton as well.

 

[TrippieRedd]

Hard to argue against what he’s done for the team.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

Yep. Hard to not go with Watson, White and Woods, but if ZZ has the year we all hope and expect, he'd be right there in the conversation.

Not sure I would classify White as a PG

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

For one year Kennedy Chandler was great. He probably would have been the best had he stayed 3 years

 

[Putbacks]

No one mentioned Bert Bertelkamp. He was money!

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

No one mentioned Bert Bertelkamp. He was money!

Bert still has some assist records. Maybe #2 in something. It didn’t hurt that he could pass the ball to King, Grunfeld, and Reggie Johnson.

Bertelkamp would have thrived with a three point line.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

Bert still has some assist records. Maybe #2 in something. It didn’t hurt that he could pass the ball to King, Grunfeld, and Reggie Johnson.

Bertelkamp would have thrived with a three point line.

Well, Bert didn't play that much with King and Grunfeld

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Well, Bert didn't play that much with King and Grunfeld

21 games and he was in Reggie Johnson’s class.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

21 games and he was in Reggie Johnson’s class.

And Bert played wing mostly his freshman season.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

And Bert played wing mostly his freshman season.

The point is he wasn’t a scrub. He had 16 assists in a game and it wasn’t versus West Appalachia State A&T. He beat Kentucky 3x his junior year. The same year that he made 87% of his free throws.

 

[KTrain]

CJ Watson has to be on the list on great Tennessee PGs. ZZ probably will be the most accomplished given the SEC champs, elite 8, All-SEC defense, etc.

Yep, CJ is the best IMO but played with lesser talent Vols were in a funk, Vols where not a must see event then. In the social media age ZZ is way more popular (advertising works) and ZZ is one of the best PG to don the UT uniform he is a beloved Vol and is only 5'9" will not have the pro career like CJ but will go down as one of the best points ever in orange..

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Getting back to the original question - will ZZ end up as the greatest PG at UT (as opposed to the best)? That’s pretty hard to define. Jimmy England was an All-American PG but he also played the 2 spot early on. Danny Schultz was also an UT All-American that was exclusively a PG, but he was a transfer. Tony White, Allan Houston, Chris Lofton, and Bill Justus were All-Americans that played some PG.

Rodney Woods and Johnny Darden weren’t All-Americans, but pretty much ONLY played PG. I’d consider them to have the most “comparable” careers to ZZ. But should Schultz be in the mix? He played at a different school early in his career while ZZ was a back up early in his. Does being a combo guard eliminate players from consideration?

So I’ll say no. ZZ won’t be the greatest PG in program history. But he has one more shot at being an All-American, first team All-SEC again, or take UT to its first Final Four so he’s not out of the running. .