University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Five Things You Didn't Know About Ackley
June 13, 2009 | Baseball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
June 13, 2009
By Adam Lucas
Dustin Ackley is on the cover of this month's Tar Heel Monthly as Carolina's best baseball player ever. As the nation's number-two draft pick, he'll get blanket coverage during ESPN's College World Series coverage. Those are circumstances that Ackley will hate--he's not one of those people who says he dislikes attention, he actually does dislike attention.
But there are some things we left out of our THM cover story and that even the Worldwide Leader doesn't know (until now):
1. Ackley has won at every level.
He's more than just a great individual talent. He also has the knack for turning his teams into winners. Ackley played on two AAU national championship teams, one as a 13-year-old and another as a 15-year-old. He was part of a state championship team in high school, and he's played on three College World Series teams in college. Next stop: the Seattle Mariners, who might want to book World Series reservations for 2012 or so.
2. His family didn't know if he was good enough to start at UNC.
The Ackley family watched the 2006 College World Series as fans. Dustin had committed to Carolina and would arrive in Chapel Hill that fall, but first he sat in the den and watched the Tar Heels make it to the championship series against Oregon State. "We were in awe of the names like Chad Flack and Josh Horton," says his mother, Joy Ackley. "They were superstars. We were just hoping Dusty would get a chance to play. We didn't expect him to start the first game in a million years. We were just happy he was on the team, because they had so much talent."
Ackley has started all 204 games in his Tar Heel career.
3. Peter Gammons threw batting practice to his father.
Ackley's father, John, played in the minor leagues. In 1981, major league players went on strike. That forced major league aficionados like Peter Gammons to get some minor league exposure, and on one of those occasions, he tossed BP to a young Ackley.
"I just realized it," said Gammons, a UNC alum, when he watched the Tar Heels take on Boston College in Chestnut Hill earlier this season. "I'm pretty sure I would've thrown to him at some point."
Another Carolina link to the Ackley family: future UNC director of athletic communications Steve Kirschner worked in the clubhouse of the New Britain Red Sox, where John Ackley played AA ball.
4. He even amazes his teammates.
It's easy for a baseball player to impress those of us mortals who can't play the game. But when even his teammates marvel at his talent, you know you've got a special talent.
"Until you see him, you can't begin to process how good he really is," says Chad Flack, who just saw Ackley break his Carolina career hits mark. "He squares up every ball. If you have played baseball before, his hands are amazing. His barrel always squares up the ball, and you just don't see that."
5. One of his biggest fans is basketball coach Roy Williams.
The Tar Heel head coach sent Ackley a letter before the super-regionals. Williams's first love was baseball, and he has a deep appreciation for the game. That's led him to a deep appreciation of Ackley, both on and off the field. In the letter, Williams wrote that two of his greatest joys upon returning to Carolina in 2003 were "coaching Tyler Hansbrough and watching Dustin Ackley hit the baseball."
One Fantastic Ride.
