Former Gamecock Tre' Kelley Delivers on Promise

Tre’ Kelley keeps his promises. The former South Carolina basketball standout (2004-2007) left campus to pursue professional basketball before he completed his degree, but he had promised others he would complete his schoolwork later. Now he has earned his degree.

“It was a promise I made to Coach (Dave) Odom, and a promise I made to my family to come back and get my degree,” said Kelley, who earned first team All-SEC honors as a senior in 2007. He scored nearly 1,500 points in his career and tallied the third most assists in program history (510) before playing professionally overseas and in the NBA Developmental League before hanging up the high tops in 2020. “When I first came here, my focus was a little different. I came here to play the game of basketball and try to help get my family out of the situation we were in by playing professional basketball. So, that was more of a priority. Where I’m from, there are only certain ways to get out of that situation and professional sports was one of them. At least that was the mindset.

“Now that mindset has changed because I want to coach college basketball, and you need your degree to do that.”

The Carolina Degree Completion Program, which is part of the Gamecock Student-Athlete Promise, can assist student-athletes who left the university in good academic standing to pursue a professional career or did not complete their degree due to personal circumstances. The program allows them to apply to be readmitted to come back to campus or take online classes to finish their degree while being eligible to receive funding for room, board, books, and tuition. They also have access to all the resources offered to current student-athletes, such as tutors, laptops, and use of the Dodie Anderson Academic Enrichment Center.

“The challenge for me was being the best I could be as a player and doing all the work when I was here the first time,” Kelley said. “When you come back and you can do it online and you have a bunch of time to do it, it’s a little easier. Everyone here at the school, including (Executive Associate Athletics Director) Maria Hickman and the basketball program itself, made it a great thing for me. I didn’t have many hurdles.

“My message to those who are in the same situation is to come back and do it. It’s worth it. The people here respect former athletes and they give you the resources you need to get it done. I’m encouraging some of the guys that I played with that didn’t finish to come back.”

As he gets set to walk across the stage on Saturday to receive his degree in service management, Kelley is excited that his family, including his seven-year-old son, Aiden, will be there to see him finish what he started.

“It’s going to be amazing to have them see me graduate,” Kelley said. “One of my proteges, who I trained for a long time before he got to South Carolina is (current Gamecock senior) Myles Stute, and he’s graduating, too. I’ve worked with him for a long time. To have that moment with him will be special as well.”