Beyond all the success Dave Marshall has had serving as high school basketball coach on both the boys and girls side of the ledger, he is known for one thing. Many consider him to be from the old school.

 

Marshall values defense. He values effort. He values leadership. He values selflessness. He values floor burns and intensity.

 

In other words, he values at the same level the intangibles that make do not make the headlines and the highlights as the ones that do. Marshall hopes to have at least one player meeting most of those criteria every year who is not necessarily the headline maker.

 

Marshall’s state-ranked Class AAA basketball team has that player this year. He wears a unform with the number three on it.

 

“Sam Romano is that guy,” said Marshall of the team’s lone senior on the roster. “Everybody needs a Sam.”

 

And the Indians have him. Although he saw some varsity action last year, Sam Romano is one of the players that waited his turn, continued to work on his game, and now is a critical component of the Tribe basketball team.

 

“He starts for us now. This is his first year as a full-time varsity player although he got key minutes las year, mainly when we needed a guy to go in and hold things together and play tough defense,” said Marshall. “He got some good experience, and it is showing up as a positive for us this year.”

 

While Marshall knew what he had, he did not know just how serious Romano himself took his role as the lone senior on the team and the leadership responsibilities that come with it. He did before the season began for 2025-26.

 

“This fall, we’re in the middle of conditioning, in some flex days, and the kids are out playing on their own and I get a text from Sam about meeting me with me before school,” said Marshall. “The purpose of the meeting was he wanted to know what he could do to be a better leader. He felt he was falling short. He was wrong.”

 

While the Indians have more than one all-state level player on the team who bring their own positive qualities to the table, Marshall likes the glue that Romano provides in helping to keep it all together. The 9-2 Tribe, as of Friday, might not be as highly ranked and regarded without a record he has played a unique part in crafting.

 

“Here’s the thing. He takes what he does seriously. What I’ve noticed that is even more special is that he is beloved by everyone of his teammates, everyone in that locker room,” said Marshall. “I can tell you for certain he has the admiration of the coaching staff as well.”

 

Statistically, Romano is not at the top of the leader board. And no one is less bothered about that than Romano. Besides, teams do not keep statistics on diving for loose balls, shutting down opponents, and number of minutes at maximum effort. It is safe to say he would be among the team leaders if they were tracked.

 

“He’s the floor burn king and from an old school guy like me who didn’t, I had to be the scrapper. Sam’s got talent and is a scrapper,” said Marshall. “How he plays is in his DNA. I’m quite sure it is in the way he was raised.”

 

Marshall figured out a bit of how he was raised when he realized that Sam’s uncle, Michael Zippilli, grew up with Dave. In fact, they graduated high school together in 1987 and grew up together in the Adamston section of Clarksburg.

 

“His uncle, my friend Mike, was best man in my wedding,” said Marshall. “I didn’t know that for a year or so after he got into the program, but he would have fit in with us old guys back in the day.”

 

Marshall said if you do not see Romano diving on the floor, or trying to lock up someone on defense, you may see him battling much bigger guys inside. Romano is not afraid to throw his 5’10 frame into the mix to secure a rebound for himself or a teammate.

 

“Watching a guy his size battle for rebounds is pure hustle and determination. I can tell you that hustle is contagious and it fires up the team. There have been times this year where someone looks to have a break away layup and Sam will chase them down,” said Marshall. “When he does those things, it just fires up everyone.”

 

Whether it is rebounding or being assigned to the other team’s top offensive player on many nights, Romano is ready for it. And Marshall said he hopes that Romano’s senior year ends with the same trip last year’s team ends with.

 

“It would be great to see him play his last name in Charleston, which would be a great sendoff. If we get there, the goal is to win it,” said Marshall. “We’ve got a long way to go between now and the possibility of that happening, but Sam being around makes it more possible.

 

“You know, it’s 2026 and you don’t find a whole lot of young people who won’t stick with it in the manner Sam did if their names aren’t in the lights,” Marshall continued. “He’s stuck with it and thrives in his role. No matter what happens, Sam Romano needs to know he’s got a special place in my heart.”

 

Editor's Note: Photos of Sam Romano by Joe LaRocca.