Gulley fulfills a promise
Inspired by mom, earns scholarship to Bryant
When Janyah Gulley was 8 years old, her two older brothers would playfully tease and mess with her about basketball. Even then her parents, led by mother Chequetta Gulley, would caution the boys — playfully, of course — that someday, Gulley would best her brothers at their own game.
A recent Fenway graduate, Gulley came through, delivering a dose of basketball karma to her siblings when she accepted a full scholarship to play Division 1 basketball at Bryant University.
Unfortunately for Janyah, her mother — her biggest motivator and cheerleader — isn’t here to help her playfully return the favor to brothers Brandon (23) and Bryson (20). Chequetta died after a sudden asthma attack in October 2017.
Growing in game
As all three siblings grew and continued to play basketball, Chequetta and John Gulley immersed themselves in the game, too. They were tough, but fair, and demanded that as long as the kids were playing basketball, they would give every effort to play well and get better. The expectation wasn’t necessarily for them to reach the college level, but John and Chequetta also wanted to give their all to help their children reach whatever goals they had.
For Janyah, that relationship with her parents reached new heights her freshman year, when a poor performance in an AAU game led to some harsh criticism. Chequetta sat down with Janyah and had a heartfelt conversation with her, explaining that constructive criticism will only make her tougher and better.
That’s when Janyah made her promise, telling her mother that she would do something big with the lessons she had taught her through the sport.
Then, during Jahyah’s junior year, tragedy struck. Chequetta suffered an asthma attack, leaving John to care for the family. It also briefly soured Janyah on the game of basketball, a bond she shared so deeply with her mother.
“At first, (her death) did (leave a bitter feeling toward basketball),” Janyah said. “I felt like I lost the love for it.”
With everyone feeling the effects of a tragic loss, though, they banded together to deal with it as best as they could.
“We’re all still trying to get past that day,” John said. “One thing I tried to instill in them is, there’s no way in the world she would let (them) quit.”
Looking ahead
Taking the next step for Janyah meant surrounding herself with the right people, getting back to work and, eventually, looking for the right fit to play basketball at the college level. Bryant wasn’t on the radar at first, but when the Rhode Island school stepped in with an offer, Janyah was excited.
Eventually, interest led to a full scholarship offer, and overwhelming excitement for Janyah and her entire family. Chequetta may not be alive to see it, but Janyah feels like she’s come as far as she can to have fulfilled her promise.
“At first, I was like, ‘I did it finally for my mom,’ ” Janyah said. “And then, I thought, ‘This is probably her putting things in motion for me to have a successful college future.’ And when I just thought of it that way, I knew she’s really looking down proud of me because of the work I put in.”
Janyah has no plans to play basketball beyond college, but will be studying “something in mathematics” and going from there, which is good enough for her, and her father.
“Even though it’s the beginning of the road, we never realized (basketball) would take her this far, with the chance to go to school for free,” John said. “I looked up to the heavens and said … the journey’s almost complete. She answered, finally.”