Lexington, KY. – A friendly competition between two teammates has led to the pair becoming two of the best defenders in the country. Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack are now two of the four finalists for the Naismith Defense Player of the Year award.
If you asked the guards they knew they were going to be special from the very first practice together.
Zeigler and Mashack came to Tennessee in the same 2021 class, but Mashack’s effort in their very first practice together had the point guard thinking Mashack was a 5th year.
“We all went to Chick-fil-A, and I was just talking to everybody in the car and he told me, ‘Yeah, I’m a freshman.’ And I was like, ‘Man! What?’ I thought you was a fifth year, I thought you was older!’ You know, his body, he was bigger than a lot of us, especially us freshman coming in,” said Zeigler.
What stood out about Mashack wasn’t necessarily his skill set, but his relentless effort which has become Mashack’s most recognizable quality.
“Just seeing how hard he was playing I was like, ‘Man, he must know something that I don’t know.’ He was going super hard, he wasn’t calming down at all. He was sustaining that energy the whole practice. So just seeing that, it was really eye-opening and crazy to me,” said Zeigler.
Those qualities are something the coaching staff instantly knew they would bond over.
“When they told me Zakai was coming in, I didn’t really have any idea who he was. But Coach Swartz, he was the coach there my freshman year, he told me he was going to be a tough guy and he was going to be a guy that I liked a lot. He was right! He was a really tough competitor, especially in practice,” said Mashack.
As their roles developed and their strengths became more apparent, it didn’t take long before their competition on defense became a staple in the team’s practice.
It’s that friendly competition that’s no doubt helped put them in the conversation as two of the nation’s best defenders.
And just because they’re teammates doesn’t mean it doesn’t get a little intense.
“Me and him tell each other we aren’t on the same team, we’re not friends. And we go at each other, sometimes a little bit too much. But you know, that’s what makes winning basketball,” said Mashack.
Mashack continued, “We try not to argue as much, but honestly that’s what’s going to happen with guys like that. Me and him, we’re close, especially on the basketball court. It gets dicey out there on who he wants to guard, who I want to guard. If I want to switch, if he wants to switch. But we try to get on the same page as fast as possible,” said Mashack.
That competition goes beyond just the two of them and has a ripple effect on the whole team.
“In practice, we go at it,” exclaimed Chaz Lanier. “We’re not brothers, we go at it. I feel like that really makes us better. They push each other and they push the whole team, and I feel like that’s why we’re so good.”
Then when it comes to game time, together they frustrate opponents like no one else.
Highlighted during the SEC Tournament, Mashack’s Mission in March is to prove he’s the best defender in the country.
Through four postseason games, he’s collected 6 steals, 13 defensive rebounds, and a block.
“I’m glad I got the respect, but the job’s not done. I want the award. I want to prove that I’m the best defender out there, and not just perimeter defender, but overall defender to be able to guard different players, be able to be versatile,” said Mashack.
“I want to be known as the best defender in the country,” said Mashack.
The winner of the 2024-25 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year distinction will be announced on April 6 in San Antonio, Texas, during the Final Four weekend.