Merrillville senior Aidan Dilosa was asked who is the best athlete in his family.
He didn’t really hesitate to answer.
“I like to say myself,” Dilosa said.
The second youngest of five siblings, the 6-foot guard should have ample opportunity to display his talents this season. The Pirates (0-1) lost four starters after last season, when they shared the Duneland Athletic Conference title. Dilosa, who averaged 3.8 points off the bench as a junior, is viewed as one of this group’s leaders and as a primary source of offense.
Merrillville coach Bo Patton said Dilosa has grown throughout his four seasons in the program. Dilosa was the best player on the junior varsity team as a sophomore and “made a difference last year on a really good team,” according to Patton.
“It’s been an adjustment for him this year, but he’s a lefty, and he’s a really good shooter,” Patton said. “There’s been some highs and lows for him. You go from being on a team where you have some solidified shooters, you have scorers, and all of those left, and now Aidan has to be one of our guys.
“But it’s all about development. The nice thing about it, he’s been very humble throughout the whole process. He’s a great student and just a great kid overall. He’s very coachable, and he continues to stay in the gym and work on his game.”
In preparation for his increased role, Dilosa said he has improved his shooting, ballhandling, defense and leadership skills. He envisions averaging at least 15 points and “leading us deep into the playoffs.”
A sectional title would be especially significant for Dilosa. The Pirates last achieved that in 2020, a season prematurely ended as the coronavirus pandemic started. He would match the championship won in 2021 by his sister Cailynn, who averaged 11.1 points and 3.5 steals as a senior guard that season. She’s a junior at Harris-Stowe State, averaging a team-high 19.0 points through five games.
Youngest sister Paityn is a sophomore guard on the Merrillville girls basketball team, Madisyn played volleyball for the Pirates before graduating in 2023 and Mark played football before graduating earlier this year.
“We have a family full of athletes,” Aidan Dilosa said. “They always think they’re the best one in the family. We have a lot of athletes. It’s pretty fun. We all play sports. We all talk about sports.”
Dilosa, whose father, Mark, played at Wirt and whose cousins Jordan (football, 2015) and Niles (basketball, 2016) flourished at Chesterton, aspires to play in college. A productive senior season would be beneficial for him.
Senior guard/forward Kelvion Brown believes Dilosa has the ability to make it happen.
“He’s always a hard worker,” Brown said. “At the same time, he’s a funny guy on and off the court. He’s a brother to me.”
Dilosa has embraced his various responsibilities.
“It’s fun,” he said. “I’m going to have a lot of chances to score. I have to be a leader, and that’s fun. Just get my guys going, get the team going, lead the stretches, talk to them, encourage them, talk on defense.
“We all can get a bucket. We all want to win. We’re just trying to figure out how to play together. It’s really our first year playing together, and for some of the guys, it’s their first year playing varsity. But we’re capable. We just have to put in the work, buy in and trust each other. But we’re going to be good.”
