WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (WTKR) — It's tough to find a time when Marquis Godwin doesn't have a basketball in his hands, whether he's playing or going through his new role as a coach.
He almost never sat the ball down while going through drills with the players on Lafayette's girls basketball team at practice.
It's a new path for the Hampton native, who started on Bill Tose's staff this season after returning from playing pro ball internationally.
"I've got great teaching, great mentorship, and now I just see myself applying the things that I've learned," said the former Hampton High School and Hampton University standout. "I've been in a lot of elite basketball rooms coaching wise, and they have shown me the way and how it should be done."
It was something Godwin wanted to do for a while. The guard, who scored 1,300 points in high school and became a three-year starter for the Pirates after transferring from Old Dominion, started planning out his coaching path while he was still playing in Europe last year.
When he returned to the 757, he got an early start as a volunteer for the Iverson Classic. Then in the summer of 2024, he started a skills development training service called Next Season Skills.
That was the avenue that started his role with Lafayette. Godwin played for Tose during his AAU days and got a call from his old coach.
"He called me in March and told me, 'I got a girl for you that's special,' Godwin remembered. "'Dynasti Pierce, she's going to William & Mary next year. I want you to start working with her.'"
"I didn't know him at all at first but it's crazy how God works because he and I have been in the same position, so he's able to help me out a lot," Pierce said.
Almost immediately, the two formed a rapport on the court.
"I'd come locked in every training session trying to learn something else," Pierce said. "Because he never stopped giving information. It's just a blessing I can intake all of this before college."
That opened up another door for Godwin, this time to not just work with one player.
"August comes and Coach Tose came to me and said, 'How do you feel about coaching her and my team the rest of the year?' And I said, 'I would love to,'" Godwin said. "I've done everything these kids want to do, it might be time to start now."
He mainly works with the Rams on skill development but is taking the opportunity as a chance to learn on the job, volunteering sets and plays to the head coach or asking questions about how to run the team.
Like Pierce, most of the players hadn't watched much of Godwin's career but quickly gravitated to his advice.
"I told (the team), 'We got to take advantage of this because not everybody has this at their high school,'" Pierce said. "Definitely take advantage and pick knowledge from him."
He still has some opportunities on the court available to him, a decision he'll make once the high school season is wrapped up.
Whether he returns to playing or not, he knows he's got his next path in his basketball journey starting to form.
"This made me realize that I've done a lot of good in basketball," Godwin said. "I tell (the Rams) every day, 'You help me more than I help y'all because y'all give me that edge to keep going.'"
