Tennessee Basketball: Projected starting lineup, depth chart for 2023-24

Tennessee Basketball: Projected starting lineup and depth chart for 2023-24

Jan 3, 2023; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; The Tennessee Volunteers bench reacts after guard Santiago Vescovi (25) scored a three pointer against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /

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Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler Volssc0225 0848 /

Point Guard

Starter – Zakai Zeigler (30 mpg)

Zakai Zeigler is the first returner for Tennessee who should continue to see starter minutes at the point guard spot. He averaged 10.7 ppg, 5.4 apg, 2.7 rpg and 2.0 spg in the rotation this past year. Don’t let the 5-foot-9 floor general’s size throw you off. He’s shown he’s a passing wizard with the ball in his hands after distributing a team-high 5.4 apg and a pest on the defensive end of the floor.

His 88.1 defensive rating this past season ranked first in the SEC. He led the conference in assists (161) and finished seventh in steals (59) in 2022-23. He’s a two-way presence who should really push the envelope with his abilities on the hardwood in 2023-24.

Bench – Santiago Vescovi (10 mpg)

Santiago Vescovi is likely to get the rest of his minutes backing up Zeigler at the point guard spot. He’ll have the shooting guard role on lock given Zeigler’s presence running the offense but when he needs rest, he’ll move over to the floor general spot given his ability to distribute as well. He finished second on the team in assists this past season with 3.1 apg while finishing third in the conference in 3-pointers made (91).

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