Ex-Tennessee forward DJ Burns is transferring to Winthrop

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) — Former Tennessee forward DJ Burns is returning to his hometown to play for Winthrop.

The 6-foot-9 Burns said Thursday on Twitter he had committed to the Eagles, whose campus is located in his home town of Rock Hill, South Carolina. Burns posed in a Winthrop jersey with the words “IT FEELS GOOD TO BE HOME” above his photo.

Burns finished at York Preparatory Academy a year early to join the Vols. He spent last year as a redshirt, practicing and traveling — but not playing — with the team.

Burns had more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in his prep career and was considered the state’s third best prospect when he signed with Tennessee.