Tanner Smith (basketball)

Tanner James Smith (born March 30, 1990) is a former American professional basketball player and the current assistant coach for Kennesaw State University men's basketball.[1]

Tanner Smith

Smith with Clemson
No. 5 – MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg
Position	Shooting guard
League	Bundesliga
Personal information
Born	(1990-03-30) March 30, 1990 Alpharetta, Georgia
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school	Wesleyan School (Norcross, Georgia)
College	Clemson (2008–2012)
NBA draft	2012 / Undrafted
Playing career	2012–present
Career history
As player:
2012–2013	Landstede Basketbal
2013-2014	MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg
As coach:
2014-2015	Mississippi State (Graduate Assistant)
2015-2017	Charlotte 49ers (Director of Basketball Operations)
2017-2018	Charlotte 49ers (assistant)
2018-2019	Mississippi State (Director of Basketball Operations)
2019-present	Kennesaw State (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Professional Dutch League All-Star (2013) Collegiate 4x All-ACC Academic Team Mr. Effort Award Tiger Pride Award (2011) C. J. Spiller Award (2011) High school All-State 2nd Team 2008 State championship game MVP Capital Class All-Star Game U.S. All-Star Squad Gwinnett County All-Star Game

Smith played professionally for MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany and Landstede Basketball in the Netherlands. He played for Clemson University.

Smith has been noted by such sources as The Post and Courier, The Times and Democrat, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for founding Tanner's Totes, an organization that helps to cheer up children and teenagers with cancer through donations of large tote bags filled with toys and other recreational items.[2][3][4][5][6] Tanner's Totes have delivered to hospitals in 25 states across the US.[4][7] Over 3000 totes have been delivered.[4][7] Smith has also been interviewed by ESPN in print and in televised interviews and has been featured on the ABC special "Everyday Health".[8]

Tanner Smith graduated in December 2011 with a degree in Marketing[6][9] and finished playing his final season at Clemson as a graduate student.[10]

College career

Tanner Smith started three seasons as a Guard on the Clemson Tigers men's basketball team.[11] He committed to Clemson University on September 13, 2007[12] under coach Oliver Purnell over offers from the University of Oregon, the University of Michigan, Vanderbilt University, the University of Georgia, Auburn University, and the University of Cincinnati.[9]

He played high school basketball at Wesleyan School in Norcross, Georgia.[9] He was rated as a 3-star prospect in high school and as the #22 small forward in the nation by Scout.com[13] and given a Scout Grade of 87 on ESPN.com.[14] He was also rated 16th in the state of Georgia by Rivals.com, two spots lower than his teammate and roommate at Clemson, Andre Young.[15]

When considering schools, Smith chose Clemson mainly because of location; It was far enough away from home for him to be independent, but still close enough that his parents would be able to come to his games. Conference also played a part in his decision. Clemson is in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), which Dana O'Neil says is "a league Tanner remembers watching as a kid."[3]

Statistics

Season Averages

Season	Team	G	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	MPG	TO	FGM-FGA	3PM-3PA	FTM-FTA
2008-09	Clemson Tigers	32	3.6	1.8	1.1	0.9	0.2	.448	.357	.667	13.2	1.1	1.3-3.0	0.5-1.3	0.4-0.7
2009–10	Clemson Tigers	32	8.7	4.2	2.2	1.2	0.4	.401	.275	.740	24.9	2.1	2.8-6.9	0.8-2.8	2.3-3.1
2010–11	Clemson Tigers	32	7.8	3.5	2.8	1.3	0.3	.411	.333	.728	29.3	1.9	2.5-6.0	1.0-2.9	1.8-2.5
2011–12	Clemson Tigers	31	11.2	5.1	4.1	1.7	0.2	.457	.351	.721	32.6	2.1	3.9-8.6	1.3-3.7	2.0-2.8
Career Averages:			7.8	3.7	2.6	1.3	0.3	0.429	.329	.714	25	1.8	2.6-6.1	0.9-2.7	1.6-2.3

Season Totals

Season	Team	G	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	3P%	FT%	MIN	TO	FGM-FGA	3PM-3PA	FTM-FTA
2008-09	Clemson Tigers	32	115	57	34	29	6	.448	.357	.667	422	36	43-96	15-42	14-21
2009–10	Clemson Tigers	32	277	133	69	37	13	.401	.275	.740	798	66	89-222	25-91	74-100
2010–11	Clemson Tigers	32	248	112	89	41	8	.411	.333	.728	936	60	79-192	31-93	59-81
2011–12	Clemson Tigers	31	346	157	128	52	7	.457	.351	.721	1011	65	122-267	40-114	62-86
Career Totals:		127	986	459	320	159	34	0.429	.329	.714	3165	227	333-777	40-340	209-288

Awards

Throughout his college career, Tanner Smith has earned numerous awards, including but not limited to the 2011 C. J. Spiller Award given to a student-athlete chosen by the Clemson University student body for exceptional representation of the school through athletics and academics; the Mr. Effort Award his junior year given to the athlete that exhibits the most "hustle"; and the 2011 Tiger Pride Award, given to the Clemson athlete who best embodies the term "student athlete". He is also a four-time member of the All-ACC Academic Team, making him only the second player in Clemson history to make the team all four years.[16][17][18]

Professional career

Smith played his first professional season in the Dutch Basketball League, playing for Landstede Basketbal from Zwolle.[19] In July 2013, Smith signed with MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg in Germany.[20]

Coaching career

Tanner Smith began coaching in 2014 serving as the Graduate Assistant for Mississippi State basketball team.[21] He became the Director of Operations at Charlotte 49ers for two seasons before being promoted to a full-time assistant coach in 2017.[22]

In 2018, Tanner Smith joined Mississippi State as Director of Basketball Operations.[23] In 2019, he joined Kennesaw State as Assistant coach.[24]

Honors

Landstede Basketbal

• DBL All-Star (1): 2013

Tanner's Totes

Tanner's Totes is a non-profit organization that works to cheer up children and teens with cancer undergoing long-term treatment in the hospital through the donation of large tote bags filled with new, non-food items.[2] It is an IRS-approved, publicly supported 501(c)(3) organization.[2][5] In the fourth grade, Tanner Smith was assigned to write a paper about his three wishes.[3][5][6] In it, he wrote that he wished for a golden retriever, to become a professional basketball player, and to help kids with cancer.[3][4][5] Tanner's Totes was established two years later, when Smith was in the sixth grade, after he reiterated his wish to cheer up kids with cancer.[3]

References

1. https://ksuowls.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1514&path=mbball
2. "About Us". Tanner's Totes, Inc. Darren Jackson LLC. Missing or empty |url= (help)
3. O'Neil, Dana. "From childhood wish to lasting legacy, Smith's charity specializes in smiles". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Missing or empty |url= (help)
4. Sawchik, Travis. "Clemson senior Tanner Smith can say he learned a lot from his father". The Times and Democrat. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
5. Hummer, Steve. "His Greatests Assists Are Off Court". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Missing or empty |url= (help)
6. "Lowe's Senior Class Award: Tanner Smith". seniorclassaward.com.
7. Sawchik, Travis. "Clemson basketball player Tanner Smith's selflessness sparks smiles". Post and Courier. Evening Post Publishing Co. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
8. Vandervort, Will. "A Special Moment: Everyday Health Chronicles the Story of Tanner's Totes". IPTAY Media. Missing or empty |url= (help)
9. "Player Bio: Tanner Smith". Clemson Tigers: The Official Site of Clemson University Athletics. CBS Interactive. Missing or empty |url= (help)
10. "Nine football players among 20 student-athletes who graduated today". Orange&White. 2012 Scripps Newspaper Group. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
11. "Tanner Smith Stats". Missing or empty |url= (help)
12. "Tanner Smith". rivals.yahoo.com. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
13. "Tanner Smith Wesleyan School roster". Scout.com. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
14. "Recruiting Nation Basketball Tanner Smith". ESPN.com. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
15. "2008 Prospect Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
16. "About Lowe's Senior Class Award". seniorclassaward.com. Premier Sports Management. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
17. "Lowe's Senior Class Award: Tanner Smith". www.seniorclassaward.com.
18. "Clemson men's basketball leads league with four on Academic All-ACC team". orangeandwhite.com. Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
19. "Landstede Basketbal signs Tanner Smith" at weblogzwolle.nl (July 31, 2012) (in Dutch)
20. "Tanner Smith to Ludwigsburg" at basketballplus.nl (July 9, 2013) (in Dutch)
21. https://www.wtva.com/content/sports/Tanner-Smith-returns-to-MSU-basketball-as-director-of-operations-482836241.html
22. "Tanner Smith". Charlotte 49ers basketball.
23. https://www.wtva.com/content/sports/Tanner-Smith-returns-to-MSU-basketball-as-director-of-operations-482836241.html
24. https://ksuowls.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1514&path=mbball

External links

• Dutch League profile