Clemson Basketball Announces Three Signees for 2007-08 Class

Nov. 8, 2006

The Clemson men’s basketball team announced the signing of three prospects to national letters of intent on Wednesday, the first day of the fall signing period. Clemson’s 2007-08 freshman class will include Jerai Grant, a 6-8 forward from Hyattsville, MD, Terrence Oglesby, a 6-2 guard from Cleveland, TN, and Demontez Stitt, a 6-2 guard from Matthews, NC.

Each of the three signees is ranked among the top 150 players nationally by at least one recruiting service. The three players join a long line of top recruits brought in by fourth-year Head Coach Oliver Purnell and his staff. On this year’s Clemson team alone, Trevor Booker, Cliff Hammonds, James Mays, Sam Perry, Karolis Petrukonis, David Potter, Julius Powell, and K.C. Rivers were each top 150 players in high school according to various recruiting services.

“I’m very pleased with this recruiting class as a group,” Purnell said. “I think we have addressed our needs at each position. This is the kind of class that will help move our program forward.”

Grant is the son of former Tiger basketball player Harvey Grant (1984-85), who went on to play 11 years in the NBA. He is also the nephew of former Clemson All-American Horace Grant, the ACC’s Player of the Year in 1986-87. Grant averaged 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks per game for DeMatha Catholic High School’s squad that went 34-1 his junior year. The team was ranked #4 in the country by USA Today. He was a second-team all-conference selection as a junior. Grant chose to sign with Clemson over scholarship offers from Notre Dame, DePaul, Indiana, Marquette, N.C. State, and Virginia.

“Jerai is a mobile, big guy that really fits our style,” Purnell said. “He can play multiple positions and is very defensive-oriented. He’s an emerging offensive talent.”

Oglesby, a 6-2 combo guard from Bradley Central High School, is regarded as one of the top three-point shooters in the country. He averaged 20 points and five assists per game and was an All-Region selection for the second straight season as a junior. He shot 40 percent on three-point attempts and 76 percent from the free throw line. He was an All-State selection by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association as a junior. Oglesby had scholarship offers from Miami (FL), Michigan, Virginia Tech, Washington State, and Charlotte.

“Terrence is an outstanding long-range shooter and is very good in other aspects of the game as well,” Purnell said. “We obviously expect him to be able to play the two-guard position, but also some point as well.”

Stitt blossomed into an outstanding point guard prospect as a junior for Butler High School. He is ranked as the nation’s #18 point guard prospect among seniors by Scout.com and is the #7 prospect in the state of North Carolina by Rivals.com. Stitt averaged 21.2 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game last season. He was a southwest 4A all-conference selection as a junior and was an all-tournament selection at the Bojangles Shootout (formerly the Dell Curry Shootout) in December of 2005. Stitt received scholarship offers from Memphis, Georgia, Penn State, Virginia Tech, George Mason, and Charlotte.

“Demontez possesses all the characteristics needed to be an outstanding guard in our league,” Purnell said. “Over the last year, he has really developed physically. That will make him an even better player at the collegiate level.”