It just so happens that the two sharp shooters have been waiting all their lives for this chance. Following the lead of cousins, uncles, parents and siblings, both have excelled in their basketball careers.

“They have been around coaches their whole life,” assistant coach Jeff Strohm said. “Since they were little they were around the coaching environment. It helps us. They have been around people who have taught them the game, which makes them better players and more coachable. The more you are around something, the better you are at it. They got to play against older guys and that made them better.

“The bottom line of the game is scoring. Shooting carries a lot of things. To have two guys, who are that great of shooters, makes it fun. It really makes our job a lot easier.”

Their basketball backgrounds have made them better players, but their similarities have also created some common ground between the two.

“I started playing basketball at a young age and my parents have always pushed me to be better,” Diener said. “I put in a lot of practice and it has paid off.

“Just the fact that our families in general are quite similar (has been a bond). Coming from the same state, I always knew about him growing up. Our families are very supportive of us. He’s got a brother and couple sisters, and I have two sisters, who all play basketball. Both of my younger sisters play (college basketball).”

Novak also felt that having the advantages of sitting in on his father’s practices and a key to the gym were very helpful.

“I definitely had the advantage of being raised around basketball,” he said. “I spent hours in the gym. When I was little I would hang around at the other end of his practices. In middle school when I knew basketball was what I wanted to do, I worked hard. I wanted to make 300 shots a day.”

Replacing Jackson and the All-American Wade will be difficult, but perhaps even more daunting will be the task of following up last season’s Final Four run. Novak, who will be starting after spending his freshman year as a sixth man, feels more comfortable going into this season because he knows what to expect. Both know that with the departed stars, all the players on the take their game to a new level.

“I always feel a lot of pressure individually from myself,” Diener said. “That outweighs any pressure that anyone can possibly put on me. I think a lot of people think we are not going to do as well since we lost Dwyane and Rob, but we are out to prove them wrong. There are a lot of teams that have a good opportunity to make it to the Final Four, and we are one of them.”

In the off-season both players have put in a lot of time to improve their overall game. Over the summer Novak was invited to try out for the U.S. Pan Am basketball team, where he was a finalist, but failed to make the last cut.

“He’s more committed to defense and defending people and that showed in the St. John’s game,” Strohm said. “He has gotten stronger and is trying to bring a more physical presence to the boards, which is good to see.

“I think (Travis) has grown a lot too. He is a better leader — he understands leadership a lot better. His strength has gotten better, but he needs to continue to get strong. He has taken most of his game and improved it.”

Even though the two have only played together for a little over a year, Novak has come to appreciate what Diener brings to the team.

“Having a point guard like Travis, who is without question one of the best point guards in the game, who can break down zones, really opens things up,” Novak said. “Having a guy like him, whose passes are always on the mark, makes a shooter like me look a lot better.”

As the team’s point guard, Diener knows that whatever happens on the court has to go through him. He takes on that responsibility with open arms and has even greater plans for the rest of his time at Marquette.

“Of course I see myself as a leader as the point guard,” Diener said. “As the point guard, you have to be a leader because you are an extension of the coach. We have a lot of leaders on this team.

“I just want to leave my mark on the Marquette program. My goal while at Marquette is to win the most games as a player. It’s all about winning.”