Former NBA player speaks to Warriors
Alex Acker knows what it takes to go from unknown college player to NBA Draft pick.
He also knows what it takes to play for Gib Arnold.
Given those two factors, Acker’s words of advice to the Hawaii basketball team were well received. Arnold recently invited Acker to speak to the Warriors after a practice.
“He’s just a guy that I really, really admire – he’s a self-made player,” Arnold said of Acker. “He wasn’t recruited hardly at all out of (high school) … we brought him to Pepperdine, and he actually redshirted his freshman year. Three years later, he was drafted by the Pistons.”
Arnold was an assistant coach at Pepperdine when he recruited Acker in 2001. They have remained in contact through the years, and one of Acker’s jerseys from the Detroit Pistons is framed in Arnold’s office.
Acker, a 6-foot-5 guard, was selected in the second round of the 2005 NBA Draft.
“I started with the mindset that I had to start over once I reached college,” Acker said. “Nobody knew me, and I had to make myself known each and every day.”
Acker is currently playing professional basketball in France.
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WarriorInsider T-shirt Special
If anybody wants to purchase one of these shirts, I’ll bring some to Manoa Valley Recreation Gym on Monday night.
Cost is $15. Cash or checks only, please.
I will be attending another function early in the evening, so I plan to get to Manoa around 7:30 p.m. (and will stay throughout the second game). I’ll try to set up near one of the corner doors on the parking lot side of the gym.
