Granby 3-sport star was a good friend to Hall of Famer Driesell
To be called a “great athlete” by Lefty Driesell means something because the Hall of Fame coach doesn’t used those words loosely.
But that’s how Driesell described his old friend Vince “Punchy” Marshall Jr., who passed away last week. He was 92.
Driesell met Marshall when both were students at Granby High in Norfolk. Marshall was a few years older than Driesell, but they got to know one another when Driesell played basketball for the Comets.
“When I was on the basketball team, he was a senior and I was a freshman,” he said. “That was a long time ago.”
When Marshall went to college at Virginia and Driesell to Duke, the two would get together when they came home for some memorable late-night pick-up basketball games.
“When he guarded me, he scratched me all up,” Driesell said with a chuckle. “We played until like 2 in the morning. When I went home, my wife was like, ‘Where you been?’ I said, ‘Punchy has scratched me all up. We’ve been playing basketball.’ She said, ‘That’s a lie. You got into a fight.’”
Driesell and Marshall had something else in common.
“His wife, Nini, was a cheerleader with my wife, Joyce, at Granby,” Driesell said. “They were really good friends.”
Marshall and Nini, who were high school sweethearts, were married for 66 years, until her death in 2018.
Marshall was a three-sport athlete at Granby, playing football, basketball and baseball. At Virginia, he was a member of the boxing team.
“I think that’s where he got that name,” Driesell said about Marshall’s nickname “Punchy.”
Marshall returned to Norfolk, where he served as an educator but also coached basketball and baseball at Granby. He taught students and athletes not only about sports, but about life’s lessons.
Driesell said Marshall also became a good golfer. What Driesell marveled about Marshall was how he never used a cart.
“He was always in good shape because when he played, he never rode a cart,” Driesell said, laughing. “He always walked. He was a big-time golfer. He played nearly every day until about a year ago. And even then, he still walked.”
Driesell said he has fond memories of Marshall.
“I’ve just known him as a great friend for a long time, and I’m going to miss him a lot,” Driesell said. “He was a great guy. Everybody loved Punchy.”