High school basketball preview 2020: Taylor Mehl and Jaidah Gonzalez give Elyria hope it can bounce back

While the entire world is anxious to put 2020 in the rear-view mirror, that feeling might be even stronger in Elyria where the Pioneers are hoping to rebound from a difficult 2019-20 season in which they went they went 2-21 overall and 0-13 in the Greater Cleveland Conference. The Pioneers are hoping the seeds have been sown for a rebirth of Pioneers basketball. If the Elyria program is to have a renaissance this season, senior Taylor Mehl and junior Jaidah Gonzalez will provide much of the impetus for that growth. Mehl and Gonzalez were All-Greater Cleveland Conference honorees a year ago and along with senior Cora Sanders are the Pioneers' only three returning letterwinners. "I'm excited for the season," Mehl said. "Our chemistry is better than last year. We don't have a lot of attitudes, we take what the coaches say, we learn and we get better." Pioneers coach Tony Brown said Mehl isn't just one of the best guards in the GCC, she's also Elyria's leader off the court. "Taylor Mehl has been on varsity three years, she's an incredible shooter and she has an incredible work ethic," Brown said. "She's devoted herself to our program. She's a straight-A student and she has an incredible basketball IQ. She's a joy to coach and be around. She's vocal when it's time to be vocal, she lives by example when she needs to live by example. She's an amazing kid." Brown was just as enthusiastic in his praise of Gonzalez, a 5-foot-5 junior, who, in a league filled with guards who are much taller and more experienced, averaged 10 points, five steals and five rebounds a game as a sophomore. "Jaidah Gonzalez is the definition of tenaciousness," brown said. "She's never allowed her size to hold her up. She's first-team all conference for a reason. She's vigilant in everything she does. She puts in the work and she never makes excuses." Gonzalez sees big things for the Pioneers this season. "We're going to be a lot better than we were last year," she said. "We've been working really hard. We're looking really good. We're running up and down the court on fast breaks. We're executing well. We've learned to be flexible with all of the changes that have had to be made and all of the stuff that's been moved around. "We want to dominate this year. We want to win everything straight from the jump. We wanna see our hard work pay off and we're ready to go. Last year we didn't do the best and people are expecting the same thing from us. They aren't going to be ready for how we look." The Pioneers' depth was bolstered by the addition of two transfer students from Lake Ridge Academy. One of those former Royals, senior guard Emma Miller, was honorable mention all-district in Division IV a year ago after averaging 11.5 points and 2.5 assists per game. Elyria is also expecting big things from junior Elizabeth Aulisio and senior Danah Ewing. Brown calls the 6-1 Aulisio a "rebounding machine." Mehl said Elyria is more a team than it was a year ago. "The best thing is we all click and we get along together really well," Mehl said. "We were able to have open gyms two times a week in the summer, that was how we built that team chemistry." This is Elyria's final year in the GCC before it joins the Southwestern Conference. Although wins have been tough to come by, Brown said having the chance to compete in one of the top leagues in the state has been a good thing for his teams. "The GCC has been one heck of a conference," he said. "We've seen everything from McDonald's All-Americans to D-I point guards. We've seen some really good basketball, and in a weird way that's really helped us. "Even in the losses there are gains. I'm a competitor and the kids like to compete so we've never shied away from the battles. Now we just have to put it all together, make it make sense and win some games." Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.