HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Kelly McCarty wore his No. 11 Denver Nuggets jersey to places that kids can only dream of, from the Boston Garden to the Staples Center. The Quitman, Miss., native was a four-year standout at Southern Miss before embarking on a 15-year professional basketball career, but he admits that nothing was more intimidating than being inside Reed Green Coliseum on May 12, 2017. "I had no clue what graduation from college would feel like," McCarty said. "I was more nervous than in any big game I played in when I heard my name called and walked across the stage. It was an experience I'll never forget. I'm glad my wife and kids were there to see me receive my degree." Bachelor's degree in liberal arts. Minor in coaching administration. McCarty's last time in a Southern Miss classroom was in 1998, in which he led the NIT-bound Golden Eagles in scoring, shooting percentage, rebounds, blocks and steals. He still maintains the No. 17 spot on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,390 career points. McCarty was no stranger to basketball success, starring at Quitman High School just northeast of Hattiesburg. He credits then-Southern Miss assistant and current Hinds Community College head coach Ralph Moore as the "deciding factor," in the recruitment to M.K. Turk's program, coming to as many games as possible and meeting the family at his house several times to show his desire for McCarty to become a Golden Eagle. "That was big because I was playing with [future No. 2 overall draft pick] Antonio McDyess, and it was easy to look off the other players on the team and focus on him," McCarty said. "My family didn't grow up wealthy, but we weren't at the bottom of the barrel. My options were Notre Dame, Villanova, Colorado State, and with me going that far away, I wouldn't get to play in front of my mom, dad, brother and sister. Coach Moore was a big part of me signing and being closer to home." Moore said he was not surprised to see McCarty play in the NBA, and still likens McCarty to being a sponge that "could absorb whatever you wanted." "His mom was a great influence in his life," Moore said. "Kids always pursue their careers, but you just knew that Kelly would come back one day [to finish school]. It doesn't surprise me at all." The fall of 2013 was the dawn of a new era. McCarty chipped away at his final 36 required hours, taken online while he balanced his family life and business at the UWIN Training Facility in Huntsville, Ala. Moreover, his previous major, Film, TV and Radio Production, had since been discontinued at the university. "It was not a lot, but it was since I would have to stay a whole year to finish those hours," he said. "To be outside the game, and not playing for a year on a high competitive level, it makes you irrelevant trying to get back in. I could just do two or three hours here and there and that made the process a little longer. In my mind, I always knew I wanted to finish my degree. I would have loved to do it earlier, but when I left college in 1998, online school wasn't available." Everything happens for a reason, or so they say, and while that was a slight inconvenience, it was still all the right timing for McCarty's life journey. "Honestly, making it to the NBA was a dream, but it was a dream that showed the bubble was very small," he said. "For me to actually make it, all the pieces had to line up right and thank God they did. My great friend, Antonio McDyess, from home was a lottery pick and was with the Nuggets, Phoenix, and then back to the Nuggets and got me a workout with them." Shortly thereafter, Kelly was in the Mile High City with the likes of head coach Mike D'Antoni, a young Chauncey Billups, Nick Van Exel and many other NBA luxuries that made for an "absolutely priceless" experience. "It really helped propel my career from thereon," McCarty said. "Having the NBA to your name, no matter who looks at your stats to have those three letters on your name and resume, there's some pedigree. It helped me get my foot in the door overseas and take off as a player." The stars did not quite align in the NBA for McCarty in the long term, but in a moment's notice, he was ready to embark on a Magellan-esque journey for the next 15 years. First stop: Israel. "It was a place where on the television and in the news, everybody that kept up with world issues was saying to not go there," McCarty said. "For me, to get a call that I had a job opportunity in Israel and I had to go there, it was kind of nerve-wracking for my parents, fiancee, and for myself I just wanted to play basketball. Once I got there, I realized TV can paint such a picture and make you think things that aren't always there." The biggest concern was out the window, and the only thing left for McCarty to do was to play the sport he loved.