Happy Belated birthday to my favorite Golden Eagle, Travis Diener.
If one athlete this year epitomized what it meant to be the MVP of his team, it was the Marquette senior guard. However, his career was prematurely ended last Tuesday when he fractured the fourth and fifth proximal phalanges in his left hand during a non-contact drill, an injury that will end his playing days for the blue and gold.
But while the rest of the Marquette faithful mourn the loss of the lone bright spot on their current roster, I remember teenage Travis, the one that existed before he entered the world of college hoops.
The media reminds fans constantly of the various Dieners floating around college basketball, but it fails to reveal the real story behind Marquette's \golden"" child.
Travis turned 23 years old yesterday, but did not redshirt during his four years at Marquette.
His cousin Drake, a senior guard at DePaul, turned the same age last December. So where did that one mysterious year go for the two standouts from Fond Du Lac High School?
For those of you who didn't follow Wisconsin High School hoops as closely as others, Travis's father Tom, the head coach of high school power house Milwaukee Vincent, successfully held his son and nephew back for one year of school.
That's fine. Maybe Trav and Drake were struggling a little bit while getting adjusted to life in high school. But later that year, his dad campaigned for the pair to be held back again.
Fond Du Lac head coach Dick Diener (aslo Tom's brother) didn't oppose the matter, but the courts saw it differently and ordered them to finish school.
Education problems? No. Breeding of basketball players? Yes.
The Diener brain trust of Bob and Dick was quite aware of the advantage that exists in an extra year of experience, especially during high school. They held their kids back for the soul purpose of bettering their chances of obtaining a Division I scholarship by exploiting the school system.
No one, however, will be able to tarnish what Travis accomplished at the colligate level, and the two wins he has over the Badgers in the past four years.
Travis's college career speaks for itself. He ranks first all-time at the school in 3-pointers (284), second all-time in assists (617) and third in scoring with 1,691 points. A candidate for all-American and national player of the year recognition, Diener is a finalist for the Cousy, Naismith and Wooden Awards and was undoubtedly the heart and soul of the Golden Eagles the past two seasons.
It is interesting that his career may have played out differently had he graduated high school with his original class. Few Division I schools gave Diener a chance to play even with the extra year under his belt. In reality, the 365 bonus days were the difference between a full scholarship to Marquette and a spot on a Division II or Division III roster.
But on a brighter note, Diener is expected to be completely healed in time to watch the NBA draft in June on television.
Many are jumping on Travis's NBA bandwagon, driven by Marquette alum Rick Majerus. But don't count on seeing him play in the league anytime soon, unless you have a dish that provides access to some of the professional ball being played in Europe.
Diener is a deadly shooter who cannot create his own shot, something that goes against the foundations of the NBA game. He is also just barely six feet tall, and is a poor defender even at the collegiate level.
The recipe for defeating Diener and Marquette was made clear when Dwayne Wade left for the NBA: face-guard their shooters because Wade took the threat of dribble penetration with him to the NBA. The result was back-to-back NIT apperances and a team that does not appear on the rise in the near future.
So I bid farwell to the career of Travis Diener, and the winning percentage of Marquette altogether. It breaks my heart to see you fall just short of the MU all-time scoring record, but now that I look at it, I wouldn't want that record standing with a modern version of Anthony Pieper.
Jon is able to provide advice on the healing of a broken finger, however he cannot mend the hearts of the Warriors fans. He can be reached at jrmcnamara@wisc.edu.
