Gailes Taking Flight at UIS

By: BHS Sports Staff

January 18, 2024

Former Hurricanes basketball standout Shariah Gailes broke numerous records here at Brooklyn and won numerous team, conference, district, and all-state awards. One of the best all-around players to wear the Blue and Yellow, she has not missed a beat from her time here as a Hurricane to now a Prairie Star at The University of Illinois Springfield.

Competing in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in her freshman season, Gailes has blossomed early and is helping her young team compete for a conference title.

But according to her, the transition from high school basketball to college basketball was anything but easy.

“This season has definitely been the hardest year of my basketball career. As a team with a majority of freshmen, our main goal was building team chemistry on and off the court and developing a deep understanding of Division II basketball. The pace of the game is so much faster than in high school. In high school, I was taller than everyone else on the court. Now everyone is tall, everyone is fast, and everyone is good. In high school, there’s no shot clock, but in college, there’s a 30-second shot clock, which makes the game go much faster.”

Despite the challenges of learning how to balance school work and a harder level of basketball, Gailes is flourishing in her new home and role. 

“Early in the season, we had an exhibition game versus Division I Indiana State (alma mater of NBA legend Larry Bird), and we won! This was a big confidence boost for the team and was the moment that we realized we could win any game at this level. Another highlight for me, personally, this season would be my game against William Jewell. I scored a career-high 27 points along with grabbing 12 rebounds. I also shot 100 percent from the free-throw line going 11-11.”

Dominating the stats sheet for the Hurricanes was never a problem for Gailes, and having success gave her the confidence to compete at the collegiate level.

Now that she is fully acclimated to what college basketball is about, what are her goals for the remainder of the season and for her career?

“My goal for the remainder of the season is to help my team win the regular season championship and the GLVC conference championship. For my collegiate career, I want rings and banners!”

Her former coach here at BHS Jon Holko had nothing but praise for Shariah.

“Shariah is the byproduct of hard work and intrinsic motivation. She was a star here, and she is going to be a star at UIS. She is the consummate teammate, and her drive to be great is contagious. I love checking in with her and hearing about the successes of her team. She was truly a blessing to coach, and I could not be more proud of her. With her skill set, she has the ability to dominate Division II basketball. I can’t wait to watch her in person, one day.”

Truly a diaper dandy, Hurricane Nation is extremely proud of you, Shariah. Keep up the good work, continue to improve, go earn those rings and banners, and be great.

Go Prairie Stars!

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