  We study fusion reactions of the $^{64}$Ni+$^{64}$Ni system using the
density-constrained time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) formalism. In this
formalism the fusion barriers are directly obtained from TDHF dynamics. In
addition, we incorporate the entrance channel alignments of the slightly
deformed (oblate) $^{64}$Ni nuclei due to dynamical Coulomb excitation. We show
that alignment leads to a fusion barrier distribution and alters the naive
picture for defining which energies are actually sub-barrier. We also show that
core polarization effects could play a significant role in fusion cross section
calculations.
