Hawaii basketball coach Eran Ganot announced Chris Acker as his third and final assistant coach on Friday.

Acker, a former player at Chaminade, was coach at West Los Angeles College the last two seasons. Prior to that, he was an assistant at Citrus (Calif.) College for six years.

“I am thrilled to welcome Chris Acker back to Hawaii as a member of our coaching staff,” Ganot said in a statement supplied by UH. “Chris is a man of great character, values mentorship, and comes from successful programs. 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 LA 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.”

West Los Angeles athletic director Steve Aggers said in Acker’s staff biography, “He is well connected and respected both in our community, and the Southern California basketball culture.”

Acker, of Compton, Calif., played at Chaminade in the early 2000s. He was a Silversword when Chaminade upset Villanova in the 2003 Maui Invitational.

Ganot previously announced the hirings of Adam Jacobsen out of Pacific and Norm Parrish from Utah. 

Acker stated: “My family and I are so thankful to Eran Ganot and the University of Hawaii for allowing us to be a part of the men’s basketball program. This is a dream come true to be back in the state of Hawaii, a place that has always been very close to my heart. The ability to work and learn on a day-to-day basis under Coach Ganot and to work with the staff that he has assembled has me elated. Words cannot describe how I feel about this new journey in helping create this new ohana and helping make UH basketball an exciting program to play for and one of the toughest to compete against.”

Acker played professionally in Portugal and Greece before returning to the USA to play for the Pittsburgh Explosion in the Continental Basketball Association.

“Chris takes great pride in every individual in his program, while they are there and after they are gone,” Ganot stated. “He has a keen understanding and affection for Hawaii and I couldn’t be more excited to welcome back Chris, his wife, Jennifer, and his two sons, Malakai and Elijah!”