When Chris Acker joined the Hawaii basketball staff in 2015, he was known in the islands mostly as the guy who, about a decade prior, curiously declared for the NBA Draft after a quiet junior season at Chaminade.
He left UH this week as a desired Division I commodity.
Acker was officially announced Wednesday as a new assistant at Boise State, meaning UH coach Eran Ganot will follow up on the assistant coach job posting he made on the Work at UH website on May 30.
The Broncos of the Mountain West are believed to have offered Acker a better salary than what UH could muster. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported BSU’s interest in Acker last week.
“I am excited to have Chris and his family as a part of Bronco basketball,” Boise coach Leon Rice said in a statement. “He’s an accomplished coach and brings a lot of enthusiasm and experience to our program.”
Acker took the lead in defensive schemes and player development over the past two seasons, including the Big West championship season of 2015-16. UH was his first Division I job after stints at Citrus College and West Los Angeles College.
Acker messaged the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on his move:
“I’m going to miss going to battle with the players and the coaching staff at UH. Hawaii fans, media, athletic department and all members of the program have been outstanding in helping my family and I through this process.
“In two years there were championships won, an NCAA Tournament victory, sanctions lifted, personal basketball records and program records broken, players reaching their academic goals and professional goals and we as coaches were together through it all. I will miss our players, Eran, Adam (Jacobsen) and John (Montgomery), I thank them for the memories created and to them I am eternally grateful. I am now ready and truly excited for this new chapter at Boise State.”
Acker’s most notable recruiting gets for UH were guards Leland Green and Drew Buggs.
UH was to begin reviewing applications on Tuesday, but there is no closing date for submissions listed on the job posting.
“We want to congratulate Chris on his new position,” Ganot said in a statement. “Chris has played a pivotal role in our program’s success and his efforts have allowed us to get where we’re at today. We’re extremely grateful for his contributions, particularly in developing our student-athletes both on and off the court. As good as he is as a coach, we’ll miss him most as a person. We wish him — as well as Jen and their two boys — all the best in this next chapter of their lives.
“In the meantime, we look forward to completing our staff in the near future and are excited about getting our team ready for a great 2017-18 season.”
