Without ever playing in a regular-season game, Damion Harris has left the Tennessee basketball team to transfer to Newberry College in his native South Carolina.

Harris, a 6-foot-10, 275-pound center from Greenville, S.C., redshirted last season. He was first linked to the Vols in November 2003 as part of former coach Buzz Peterson's signing class. After attending prep school he re-signed with Tennessee the following year.

Harris played in an exhibition game in 2005 against Southern Indiana. He battled weight and conditioning issues during his season at UT.

The signing of freshmen Wayne Chism and Duke Crews put Harris farther down the depth chart for the coming season.

"We wish Damion well," Pearl said in a UT release on Monday. "He made a lot of progress as a student and as an athlete during his time here at Tennessee.

"He will have a good chance to contribute right away at Newberry."

Because Newberry is a Division II school, Harris will be eligible to play in 2006-07. Newberry plays in the South Atlantic League with Carson-Newman College and Tusculum College.

"Damion's presence will be a difference-maker for us with his size and his stature," said Newberry coach Shaun Golden, a former Georgia player.

"We hope his mentality and aggression grows in the direction we have him strive towards, and if all goes to plan, he can give us a post presence we haven't had in the last two years."

After graduating from Wade Hampton High, Harris played a season at Prince Avenue Prep in Pickens, S.C.

He earned honorable mention selection on Street & Smith's 2003 Boys High School All-America Team.

Harris' departure gives Pearl an additional scholarship available for recruiting. UT is slated to lose seniors Dane Bradshaw and Major Wingate after this season.