Indiana coach Tom Crean compared current Hoosiers guard Jordan Hulls to former Marquette guard Travis Diener last week.

Their styles may be similar, but Diener had a larger impact on Marquette than Hulls has at Indiana so far in his career, especially with Marquette’s 2003 Final Four run.

Diener, a point guard from Fond du Lac, helped lead the Golden Eagles to the Final Four as a sophomore. He had some big games down the stretch in the tournament, including 29 points against Holy Cross in the second round and 26 in an overtime win against Missoui in the Sweet 16.

After Dwyane Wade and company left, Diener averaged 18.8 and 19.7 points and 6.0 and 7.0 assists per game as a junior and senior, respectively.

Diener was drafted 38th overall in the second round by the Orlando Magic. He spent two seasons in Orlando, then two with the Indiana Pacers. He was waived by Indiana and signed with Portland in March of 2010. Since the end of that NBA season, he’s played with Dinamo Sassari in Italy.