The Long Beach State men's basketball team was one of the biggest surprises in March Madness. Head coach Dan Monson was fired prior to the Big West tournament before he proceeded to lead the team to a Big West tournament victory and an automatic bid into the Field of 68.
Monson had a lot to say about the development of the entire process, and the Long Beach State athletic director also gave some eye-opening comments on the timing of the move. Nonetheless, the Long Beach State basketball program officially has its new head coach: Chris Acker from San Diego State, as Jon Rothstein reports.
‘Sources: San Diego State's Chris Acker is finalizing a deal to be the next head coach at Long Beach State.'
After Long Beach State lost to Arizona in the Round of 64 in March Madness, they move quickly and get a deal done with Chris Acker, a well-known assistant in the college ranks who is still with the Aztecs during their Sweet 16 run.
The story of Monson being fired as Long Beach State head coach was quite the controversy, and he followed up that with a perfect Seinfeld take prior to his team falling to 2-seed Arizona. Monson finishes his Long Beach State basketball run with a 275-273 record, and now Chris Acker steps in to take over the job.
A look at new Long Beach State basketball HC Chris Acker
Chris Acker is an assistant who has been around the game for a while and just needed the right opportunity. Acker spent time as an assistant coach at Hawai’i and Boise State before joining the San Diego State staff. He has been with the Aztecs since 2019 and is finishing his fifth season in San Diego.
He has been a key part of the staff for Brian Dutcher's team that has been an NCAA Tournament staple and made the national title game a year ago. Acker's primary roles consist of recruiting, player development, and helping with the team's offense.
Acker now gets his first head coaching opportunity for a program that has been to the NCAA Tournament just twice since 2012. They went 21-15 with a 10-10 record, and if it weren't for a stunning Big West tournament win, they wouldn't have made the Field of 68.
Acker also was recently named to the Silver Waves Media 100 Rising Stars mid-major assistants lists, and deservedly so. San Diego State also saw Justin Hutson leave the program to become the head coach at Fresno State a while back, although he was recently fired as the Bulldogs head coach.
San Diego State is preparing for a Sweet 16 game against UConn on Thursday night in a rematch of last year's national title game, so Acker has a lot of things on his mind over the next few days.
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