ATLANTA — When Clemson guard Tanner Smith takes the court at Philips Arena against Georgia Tech tonight, he’ll have plenty of family and friends rooting for him.

The Alpharetta native grew up going to games across the Atlanta area, especially at Georgia Tech’s Alexander Memorial Coliseum, which is closed this season while undergoing a rafters-to-floor renovation.

This is hardly the first time he has taken the court on that site after his name was announced, however.

When Smith was five years old, he put a major scare into his father, Craig – and wound up with a story the family still laughs about.

Craig and friends had some great seats, about four rows behind the basket at the now-demolished Omni Arena (torn down in 1997 to make way for Philips’ construction).

At halftime, the Atlanta Hawks had a promotion – buy a paper airplane, and toss it onto the court. Whoever got closest to the target won a prize.

In the third quarter, Tanner’s name was announced.

“They told you, if you go to a gate, bring your ticket, you win,” he explained.

Being your typical five-year-old, Tanner didn’t hear the whole message.

“My dad was sitting there, talking to a friend, and I just took off onto the court,” he said. “My dad said he turned around, I wasn’t there. He looked and I’m on the court.”

The Hawks’ mascot, “Harry Hawk,” came up to him.

“He spoke to me, and said, ‘Where’s your dad?’” Smith recalled. “I was like, ‘That’s NOT what Harry Hawk is supposed to sound like.’”

The incident, Smith jokes, “scarred me for the rest of my life.”

All’s well that ends well: Smith won a pair of tennis shoes and was quickly reunited with his father.

Later, he went back to Philips Arena and says he “was able to respect more of what the NBA game was like.”

Smith is 2-2 in his Clemson career in Atlanta, winning two of three times at Georgia Tech and losing in the 2009 ACC Tournament at the Georgia Dome – to the Yellow Jackets. He’ll get at least one more homecoming in his college career; the ACC Tournament is set for Philips Arena March 8-11.