Clemson star died way too young. Tigers, and an old friend, helped fulfill a promise

Demontez Stitt made a promise to his grandmother, Gwen Stitt: He was going to earn his college degree from Clemson University.

The point guard was five hours short of receiving his degree in parks, recreation and tourism management when he left to play basketball overseas following his senior season.

Stitt, who starred at Butler High near Charlotte, had flirted with the idea of returning to school several times and finishing his degree in the offseason, only to put it off for another year, but his pledge to his grandmother appeared finally set to come true in the fall of 2016.

Tragically, Demontez died unexpectedly in July of that year while he was home in North Carolina following his basketball season in Europe.

He was 27 years old.

“That was one of his goals, that he would tell me every year. 'I’m going to do it grandma, I’m going to do it.' That was one of his missions when he got back this time,” Gwen Stitt said. “I really think he had made up his mind this time. God had other plans.”

Former Clemson guard Terrence Oglesby, who arrived with Stitt at Clemson in 2007, helped his former teammate fulfill that promise this week.

Stitt was awarded his degree posthumously on Wednesday during a ceremony at Clemson Memorial Stadium. His grandmother was on hand, along with several other family members, to accept the degree. The family received a standing ovation as Stitt was honored along with other Clemson student-athletes.

“It was just neat to share that with them and to have them there and for it to be done at the student-athlete award luncheon was nice,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “A special mention was made of it with the other basketball graduates. The student-athletes all gave him a standing ovation. It was a special deal and a special day and blessed to be a part of it.”

Oglesby, who spent two seasons at Clemson before beginning his career overseas, returned to the Upstate in the fall of 2017 to finish his degree and help out as a student manager.

As he got closer to earning his degree, he started pushing more for Stitt to receive his as well.

Oglesby spoke with Clemson President Jim Clements several times over the past few months and worked with Clements, as well as other school officials, to ensure that the process was completed in time for Stitt to graduate this week.

“We came in together, and now we’re graduating together,” Oglesby said. “More than anything, Demontez was such a good person to me, and I had such a huge respect for him that I felt like he deserved it. Being a part of it was kind of an honor.

"It meant a lot for me just to be able to help Demontez in some sort of capacity.”

Oglesby and Stitt connected as friends immediately after the two arrived in the Upstate. They were important pieces of Clemson teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and 2009. Stitt went on to be Clemson’s leading scorer in 2010-2011 and led the Tigers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

He remains the only Tigers player to start on four consecutive NCAA Tournament teams.

“He was one of those guys, fun-loving off the court, but on the court when it was time to work or time to compete, he was going to come at you like a bulldog. I mean, he was coming after you. I respected that about him tremendously,” Brownell said. “He was a lot of fun to be around, a lot of fun to coach, because you knew you were always going to get his best. It didn’t matter who you played, the moment wasn’t going to be too big. He was going to go after it and play to win. He had a great senior year.”

Stitt and Oglesby remained friends as they both played professional basketball overseas.

Stitt was slated to come to Oglesby’s wedding at the end of July in 2016 before he died, leaving behind a loving family and an unborn daughter.

“I talked to him about four weeks before the wedding, and then I think two and a half weeks before the wedding was when he passed away. It was just a shock to us all. It just crushed me,” Oglesby said. “He told me one of the reasons he might not make it is because he was going to have his daughter. She was not born when he passed away.”

Stitt’s daughter, Deztinee Stitt, was on hand for the ceremony Wednesday as her father was honored.

“For it to be accepted was such a relief because he has a daughter that is about to be 2 years old, she’s growing up without a father. For her to be able to look at that and see that her dad has a college degree, that sets a precedent for her growing up,” Oglesby said. “To be able to graduate together at the same time really means a lot to me. He’s a special person and comes from such a good family. It was something that he deserved and something that his family wanted, so I was happy that I could be just a small part of helping that process along.”

Gwen Stitt was joined by eight family members at the ceremony and they were able to thank Oglesby and Brownell in person for all of their help.

“I’m amazed that they would do that,” she said. “It really can’t be explained. Just grateful.”

This story was originally published May 10, 2018 at 5:36 PM with the headline "Clemson star died way too young. Tigers, and an old friend, helped fulfill a promise."