By Mike London

Salisbury Post

WHEELING, W. Va. – While the college basketball world awaited a decision from Juke Harris – will it be Tennessee, Michigan or the NBA draft? – the other former Rowan County star with the Harris surname, Tee Harris Jr., quietly announced he’s transferring to Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C.

Teyachta “Tee” Harris, a 6-foot-7 forward who alternates rim-rocking dunks with 3-pointers, entered the transfer portal in late March. He is an athlete who can lead a team in rebounds and blocked shots, while also making a decent percentage of his 3-point attempts. That sort of versatility is valued by coaches.

Coach Mark Prosser’s Winthrop Eagles compete in the Division I Big South Conference against teams such as High Point, UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb, so this will be a step up for Harris. He signed with Division II Wheeling University in West Virginia after graduating from East Rowan High with the Class of 2023.

“D-I has been the dream for a long time,” Harris said. “So it feel great to get there.”

Despite his wide range of skills, Harris played for a 6-16 high school team as a senior and was a late recruit by Wheeling. He didn’t have a college home until after he shined in AAU events following the high school season. He paid some dues as a Wheeling freshman, working his way into the rotation and averaging 7.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 16 minutes per game.

As a sophomore, he became a starter for the Wheeling Cardinals and bumped his averages to 10.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in 22 minutes per game.

He wasn’t quite a star as a junior, but he was close to that level, on the floor for 28 minutes per game and averaging 14.4 points and 6.4 rebounds. He was Wheeling’s No. 3 scorer. He was a 50-percent shooter from the field, with 72-percent makes from the foul line. He wasn’t a stellar 3-point marksman, but he was a threat with 40 made 3s. He led a 19-9 team in rebounds and blocks (49). He had 37 steals and 35 assists.

“High school to college basketball is a huge adjustment,” Harris said.  “In high school, I was almost always the tallest guy on the floor. In college, there are a lot of guys with my size and similar skills. I worked hard and made the adjustments I had to make. I definitely got better each year I played for Wheeling.”

When Harris put his name in the portal, there was significant interest. His final three schools were Winthrop, Campbell and St. Mary’s.

“The closeness to my family of Winthrop was a big factor,” Harris said. “It’s basically an hour away. They were able to come see me play some at Wheeling, but it will be a lot different now. My mom is talking about coming to every home game. She’s very happy. It’s all good.”

Harris was leaning toward Winthrop before he actually visited. Meeting the coaches and players and getting to see the campus clinched his decision.

“Several schools wanted me and that makes you feel great, but the visit to Winthrop clarified everything,” Harris said. “It’s the best fit for me.”

He’ll probably be mostly a “3” man for Winthrop.

Winthrop was a good team last season – 23-11 – and is generally regarded as one of the big dogs in the Big South. Harris should be able to help and he may make a surprising impact.

“The people who watched me play at East Rowan, the biggest difference they would see in my game now would be more consistency,” Harris said. “I’ve grown in a lot of ways.”

Harris produced quite a few humongous high school games for East Rowan, including a 31-point, 16-rebound, five-block effort against Northwest Cabarrus. He had a 34-point outing against North Rowan. He averaged 21 points (on 54-percent shooting) and 11 rebounds as a high school senior. He scored 756 points for East in just two seasons.

Harris said he has another week or so of classes in Wheeling before he says goodbye to the school and the city, which is not far from Pittsburgh. Then he’ll start preparing seriously for his final college basketball season.

“My goal is to have a strong season for Winthrop,” Harris said. “I’d like to keep playing basketball beyond college, so this is an important year for me. Then I’ll take a look at the opportunities that are out there, whether it’s in the USA or overseas.”