In case you weren't at the BC: FF 5 year ceremony

This video was shot at the MU / Pitt game half-time ceremony.

8 minutes total .. first 2 minutes is the montage video .. at the 2 minute mark is the player intros .. 4 minute mark is Tom Crean .. 6 minute mark is DWade .. 7 minute is Travis' speech.

The beginning video grab is a bit shaky, as people were bumping me around. Sorry.

Wade and Diener deliver a night to remember for MU alums

I doubt many alums had a better basketball weekend than those who attended the Marquette Club of South Florida's most recent event. On Saturday night, the alums gathered to watch Dwyane Wade's Miami Heat top Travis Diener's Indiana Pacers......and the night was capped by a meet & greet with the pros.

With special thanks to Dan Reinfeld of the MU Club of South Florida, here's a slideshow of the post game gathering. Very nice!

Two quick alumni updates

OK, more content to come later today but in the interim, here are a pair of items passed along from fans of the blog:

• "McGuire," Dick Enberg's one-man play about Al McGuire, will run at Hofstra University's Black Box Theater in Hempstead, NY on Feb. 9 and 10. Here is the blurb from the Daily News.
• Also, if you have the good fortune to live in South Florida perhaps you can jump into the fun when the Miami Heat host the Indiana Pacers game on Saturday, January 26th 2008 at 3:30pm. I should have posted this last week (skiing got in the way!) -- because the MU club down there will host a post game meet and greet session with Dwyane Wade (and hey, maybe Diener shows up too). OK, I am green with envy. For more info click here.
  

Travis Diener to sign $4.9M deal with the Indiana Pacers

Fantastic. Per reports today, Travis Diener will sign a 3-year, $4.9M deal with the Indiana Pacers shortly. The deal includes a player option for the third year.

If the deal goes through, Diener would be the primary backup to Jamaal Tinsley.

Here are a few reports:

Fond du Lac Reporter

"Money was secondary," said Bob Diener, whose son was unavailable for comment Thursday. "He wanted an opportunity to play. "The Pacers seemed like a good opportunity to prove himself."

Indianapolis Star

"The Pacers noted their interest in Travis early in the process and they followed up consistently," said Diener's agent, Doug Neustadt. "There's a wide-open spot there for minutes and Travis is looking forward to the opportunity."

Orlando Sentinel

Now, Orlando's coach fired for not playing Diener

A few days ago, we reported Steve Novak's coach, Jeff Van Gundy, was fired from Houston for not giving Steve enough playing time.

Well, now it's Travis Diener's turn. Brian Hill, Orlando's coach, was fired today for not giving Travis enough PT.

Clearly, the message has been sent to coaches around the NBA: Leave Marquette's NBA players on your bench at your own peril.