It was a crazy week for former Clemson basketball star Terrence Oglesby.
Not only did he graduate from Clemson on Friday, but he also got to see his old friend and former Clemson teammate, Demontez Stitt, receive his college degree posthumously.
“I am emotionally exhausted, but it has been a good week,” Oglesby said to The Clemson Insider following Friday’s ceremony at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Oglesby played a big role in Clemson awarding Stitt’s family with his degree. Stitt passed away in July of 2016 after suffering a heart attack in his Charlotte, N.C., home. He was just 27 years old.
“That is just such a wonderful group of people … the Stitt Family. Demontez was such a good guy. I’m happy I could be a small part,” Oglesby said modestly. “He was such a fantastic person. I ran into Demontez probably five or six times abroad. In the summers we always ran into each other.”
Oglesby and Stitt came to Clemson together in 2007 as freshmen. Later that year, in the spring of 2008, they helped lead the basketball program to its first ACC Championship appearance in 46 years and to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 10 seasons.
They again helped Clemson get back to the Big Dance the following year as Oglesby became one of the best shooters in school history, while Stitt became one of the greatest players the program has ever had.
Oglesby left Clemson after his sophomore year to turn professional, while Stitt finished up his eligibility and was part of the greatest era in Clemson basketball history. He played on four NCAA Tournament teams, one of just two Clemson players in history to do so. He is the only player in Clemson history to start four NCAA Tournament games.
Stitt was just a few hours short of earning his college degree when he left Clemson in 2011. Oglesby figured such when he approached Clemson President Jim Clements about giving Stitt his posthumous degree.
“We came in together, so I knew he was close because he stayed all four years and he would not have been eligible if he was not close,” Oglesby said.
Oglesby’s meeting with Clements set of a chain of emails between the two and others in the administration, including Leslie Moreland, director of Athletic Academic Advising at Clemson.
“Whenever I talked to Leslie Moreland and Maria over there, they said he was only five hours away. I actually volunteered to take a couple of classes for him, but since he was so close it was not needed,” Oglesby said. “It was actually a really nice thing to be a part of.
“I was very happy we were able to get it done for his family.”
Now that he has his Clemson degree in hand, Oglesby has accepted a position to be Brad Brownell’s new graduate assistant coach on the Clemson staff. He worked this past season as a student assistant coach for the Tigers.
Oglesby will also begin work on earning his graduate degree as he hopes to one day become a full-time basketball coach.
“It feels good. I’m learning a lot. As you get one degree, you have to keep learning,” he said. “I will be on the floor coaching. I will be cutting film and doing a lot of the same things I was doing this year. Maybe, even a little bit more responsibility. So it is good. I’m excited to be back. Hopefully, we can convince a couple of other guys and make sure they want to come back.”