Goodson shares her thoughts on former Old Dominion basketball coach and current head coach for the Washington Mystics, Marianne Stanley.

Stanley began her coaching career in 1976 at the age of 22 as an assistant at Old Dominion University and was promoted to head coach one year later. Overall, she compiled an impressive 415-224 (.649) collegiate record, earning four Conference Coach of the Year and two National Coach of the Year honors. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.

Goodson admires Coach Stanley. Jennifer Pottheiser/WNBAE Getty Images

Stanley has been a big influence. Mitchell Layton/WNBAE Getty Images

"Actually it’s a woman I’ve spent a lot of days with, learned a lot of things from her. She’s currently the coach for the Washington Mystics. It would have to be Marianne Stanley. I think, other than my mother and my grandmother, she has got to be the most influential woman in my life, who has changed my life.

"She coached me at Old Dominion University, and from there, the most important thing is when you get out of college, is those people that help you once you get out. She was one of those people. Because a lot of people are like, when you’re in the limelight and you’re this, that and yada yada, yada yada this and yada yada that and we’re going to help you and this, that and the other.

"She was probably one of the few people who actually stepped to the plate and said, “Well, what do you want to do?” And I wanted to go overseas. She said, 'O.K., get in shape. I’ll make sure that you’re there.' And I was in Brazil – that is where my career started. She has just been a great person, an influential second mother, grandmother, mentor, advisor, and the list goes on and on.

"The one thing that sticks in my mind is when I was younger, playing at Old Dominion. She said, 'I’m not going to settle for mediocrity, I’m going to tell you that right now, and if that’s a part of you, of anything that’s inside of you, we’re going to have problems. Because everything that you do, there’s no such thing as 110%, but you’ve got to give your all, whatever your all might be at that particular time, even if it’s only 80% or whatever, you’ve got to go all out at all particular times.'

"That is just something I carry with me all of the time, every where I go, just stay on point, promptness, this, that and the other. Just little things that you’re not taught or you’re taught and you forget about, she was right there."

Do you think of yourself and the WNBA as a part of women's history?
"It’s hard. It’s hard to view yourself as a part of anything when you’re a part of it. Once you remove yourself from that situation, then you can see everything that was right there in your face and you didn’t even know it. And playing in this league, everything is moving, it’s so fast. We go, we sign autographs, we see the kids, but it’s just so boom-boom, so it’s hard. I know that I’m a part of history, I’m history in the making, but I think I’ll probably appreciate it more when it’s over."