Tanner James Smith (born March 30, 1990) is a former American professional basketball player and is currently an assistant coach for

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

. Smith played professionally for

MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg Riesen Ludwigsburg ( en, Giants Ludwigsburg), for sponsorship reasons MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, is a professional basketball club that is based in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The club currently plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the first tier of ...

in the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Landstede Basketbal Landstede Hammers is a Dutch basketball club based in Zwolle. The club plays in the BNXT League, the Dutch top tier division. The club was founded as Cees Lubbers The Hammers in 1995. In 1999, the club’s name was changed into Landstede Hammers. ...

l in

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He played for

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

. Smith has been noted by such sources as

The Post and Courier ''The Post and Courier'' is the main daily newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina. It traces its ancestry to three newspapers, the ''Charleston Courier'', founded in 1803, the ''Charleston Daily News'', founded 1865, and ''The Evening Post'', f ...

The Times and Democrat ''The Times and Democrat'' is a daily newspaper in Orangeburg, South Carolina. ''The Times and Democrat'' is owned by Lee Enterprises, a company based in Davenport, Iowa. It has a daily circulation of 13,395. History and origins ''The Times and ...

, and

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

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. Tanner's Totes have delivered to hospitals in 25 states across the US. Over 3000 totes have been delivered. Smith has also been interviewed by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

in print and in televised interviews and has been featured on the ABC special "Everyday Health". Tanner Smith graduated in December 2011 with a degree in

Marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

and finished playing his final season at Clemson as a graduate student.

College career

Tanner Smith started three seasons as a

Guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

on the

Clemson Tigers men's basketball The Clemson Tigers men's basketball team is a college basketball program that represents Clemson University and competes in the NCAA Division I. Clemson is a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Clemson sponsored its first men's ba ...

team. He committed to Clemson University on September 13, 2007 under coach

Oliver Purnell Oliver Gordon Purnell Jr. (born May 19, 1953) is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Radford University from 1988 to 1991, Old Dominion University from 1991 to 1994, the University of Dayto ...

over offers from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

, and the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

. He played high school basketball at

Wesleyan School Wesleyan School is a private college-preparatory nondenominational Christian school located 20 miles north of Atlanta in the suburban city of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1963 and has existed on its current grounds ...

Norcross, Georgia Norcross is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 9,116, while in 2020 the population was 17,209. It is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metropolitan statistical area. History ...

. He was rated as a 3-star prospect in high school and as the #22

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

in the nation by

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

and given a Scout Grade of 87 on ESPN.com. He was also rated 16th in the state of Georgia by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, two spots lower than his teammate and roommate at Clemson, Andre Young. 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 The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC), which Dana O'Neil says is "a league Tanner remembers watching as a kid."

Statistics

Awards

Throughout his college career, Tanner Smith has earned numerous awards, including but not limited to the 2011

C. J. Spiller Clifford "C. J." Spiller Jr. (born August 5, 1987) is an American football coach and former running back who is currently the running backs coach at Clemson University. He previously served as a graduate intern at Clemson in 2020. Spiller play ...

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.

Professional career

Smith played his first professional season in the

Dutch Basketball League The Dutch Basketball League (DBL), formerly the Eredivisie, was the highest professional basketball league in the Netherlands, run by the Federatie Eredivisie Basketball (FEB). Since 2021, the league has been replaced by the Belgian-Dutch BNXT Le ...

, playing for

from

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

. In July 2013, Smith signed with

MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg Riesen Ludwigsburg ( en, Giants Ludwigsburg), for sponsorship reasons MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, is a professional basketball club that is based in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The club currently plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the first tier of ...

Coaching career

Tanner Smith began coaching in 2014 serving as the Graduate Assistant for Mississippi State basketball team.https://www.wtva.com/content/sports/Tanner-Smith-returns-to-MSU-basketball-as-director-of-operations-482836241.html He became the Director of Operations at

Charlotte 49ers The Charlotte 49ers are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 49ers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a ...

for two seasons before being promoted to a full-time assistant coach in 2017. In 2018, Tanner Smith joined

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...

as Director of Basketball Operations. In 2019, he joined

Kennesaw State Kennesaw State University (KSU) is a public research university located in the state of Georgia with two different campuses in the Atlanta metropolitan area, one in Kennesaw and the other in Marietta on a combined of land. The school was found ...

as Assistant coach.

Honors

DBL All-Star The Dutch Basketball League All-Star Gala was a yearly basketball event in the Netherlands, organised by the Federatie Eredivisie Basketball (FEB). During the event the yearly All-Star Game was played, which included the best players of a given DB ...

(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. It is an IRS-approved, publicly supported 501(c)(3) organization. In the fourth grade, Tanner Smith was assigned to write a paper about his three wishes. In it, he wrote that he wished for a

golden retriever The Golden Retriever is a Scottish breed of retriever dog of medium size. It is characterised by a gentle and affectionate nature and a striking golden coat. It is commonly kept as a pet and is among the most frequently registered breeds ...

, to become a

professional basketball In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

player, and to help kids with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. 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.

References

External links

Dutch League profileStephen F. Austin Lumberjacks profileAppalachian State Mountaineers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Tanner 1990 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in the Netherlands American men's basketball players Appalachian State Mountaineers men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state) Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Charlotte 49ers men's basketball coaches Clemson Tigers men's basketball players Dutch Basketball League players Kennesaw State Owls men's basketball coaches Landstede Hammers players Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball coaches Shooting guards Sportspeople from Alpharetta, Georgia Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball coaches