Smith Shows His Heart

Here is a story about a college athlete who absolutely will shatter the stereotype of the dumb jock who only cares about himself, etc.

With the understanding that there are likely many college athletes who regularly do good things for people Clemson freshman guard Tanner Smith is right up there at the top of the list.

You may have heard about his cause back in the spring when a cable TV show that does makeovers on houses remade his room as a reward for his charitable endeavor called Tanner’s Totes.

Tanner’s Totes brings tote bags full of goods to pre-teens and teens in hospitals battling cancer and other illnesses. His website---tannerstotes.com notes that “their days in the hospital can be long and blue, and there are times when these teens feel like the “forgotten ones”. You can help change that by becoming involved in Tanner’s Totes Inc. I invite you to explore our site to learn more.”

Smith was motivated as a child when his father had a bone marrow transplant when Tanner was three and has been in and out of the hospital since. When Smith was in fourth grade, he wrote an essay stating he wanted to achieve three things: get a golden retriever, play in the NBA, and help brighten the lives of those who are ill.

Two years after writing that paper he made clear those intentions were still strong so his parents asked him if he was serious about his goals, especially the last one.

When Smith reiterated that he was they assisted him in getting started.

Through a friend of his mother’s he made contacts at various hospitals in the Atlanta area and he and his mom sent over the tote bags stuffed with various items to cheer kids up whenever the hospitals request them. In his freshman season at Clemson, he’s tried to assist in the cause from afar and will have more time to help out in the spring. He also plans to look at ways to do the same in the upstate and the potential to grow this project to even bigger levels obviously exists down the road.

For what it’s worth, along the way he got that retriever, named Griffey, and as a freshman he’s become a valuable reserve on the Clemson team in which his defense off the bench has been his key asset. The NBA dream may still be a ways off but he’s getting significant minutes as a freshman in an ACC program so he has that going for him.

But it’s the foundation he’s built as one human reaching out to others that has rightfully brought him the most attention. In addition to his spot on the cable program last spring ESPN’s website recently ran a story about him and that’s drawn even more nationwide attention to his effort.

Coaches always want players with heart. This guy has shown his is maybe just a little bigger than most in his situation.