Chris Acker was never one to turn away from a challenge.
Back in 2004, Acker raised some eyebrows when he declared for the NBA Draft a season early as a reserve player for Division II Chaminade. Two years ago, he turned heads when he signed on to the challenge of reviving a suspended program at West Los Angeles College.
Joining Eran Ganot’s basketball staff at Hawaii was a no-brainer by comparison.
On Friday, Ganot officially announced the 35-year-old Acker as the third and final full assistant coach with the rebuilt Rainbow Warriors.
"It feels amazing. There’s no other word I can say to describe it but amazing — coming back to a place that I have so much familiarity with, can relate to in so many different ways," Acker said. "At the end of the day, it’s really about the University of Hawaii for me. Whatever Coach Ganot needs me to do will get done."
As a college guard, Acker’s decision to leave a season early — he averaged five points, two rebounds and 13.3 minutes per game as a junior — got some attention. It even elicited a column from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin’s Kalani Simpson.
Acker wasn’t drafted, but he went on to play four years as a professional, in Portugal, Greece and the USA’s Continental Basketball Association. He stands by the pro decision; as a consequence he learned what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
"It helped me put things in perspective as a player, but also as a coach and what I could bring to help bring the best out of the young men that I would be fortunate enough to coach," Acker said.
Former Citrus College coach Rick Croy (now head coach at Cal Baptist) gave Acker his first coaching job as a Citrus assistant. He recommended his former pupil to Ganot, who later was an assistant at Saint Mary’s alongside Croy. Above all, Croy lauded Acker for his competitiveness.
Acker, of Compton, Calif., was with a successful program at Citrus for six years — including a state title in 2008 — but in 2013 took a chance with West Los Angeles, which was a suspended program at the time it hired him as its head coach.
"I think even along the same lines (as his pro decision), the West L.A. opportunity (was a challenge)," Croy said. "He was in a good position at Citrus, and wanted to build his own program at West L.A. Just the way he approaches the game, he’s very tenacious. He knows skill development and helping and shaping point guards into leaders. He’s very talented as an on-the-floor coach. Knows that you gotta defend to win, and he can get guys to buy in defensively. His competitiveness, that’s what I enjoyed the most about competing with him. Just the type of energy that he brought to the gym every day."
West Los Angeles struggled its first season with 11 true freshmen. But it surged to an 18-9 record last year and reached the CCCAA playoffs round of 16.
"It was awesome," Acker said of his first head coaching job. "There was no expectations going into it. And I think the beautiful thing about it now is, I’m leaving with there being great expectations for it to continue to move forward. So I guess that’s a tribute to the hard work that was put in."
Croy said Acker is a known commodity in Southern California, which will aid in recruiting.
"Chris is a man of great character, values mentorship, and comes from successful programs," Ganot said in a UH release. "He was a key component as associate head coach in building Citrus College into a championship program and, most recently, resurrected the program at West L.A. as head coach. I have always been a firm believer in focusing on development, on and off the court and in the classroom, and Chris has a unique gift in this area."
After his playing days, Acker received degrees from the University of Phoenix and Concordia University Irvine to ready himself for coaching.
"It feels like life has come full circle," Acker said. "And I feel like I have a great passion for what I’m doing. I feel very, very confident in Coach Ganot and everything he wants to do at the University of Hawaii. So I think this is just an unbelievable experience I’m about to jump into. I’m preparing for the journey and looking forward to everything that’s going to come in the future."
