Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month

The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee began in 1957 when James Collins spearheaded a group of sports journalists to form a sports awards committee to immortalize local sports history. For 13 years, the committee honored local athletes each month. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the 1971 creation of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, honoring 10 legends from the Crescent City in its first induction class. While adding the responsibility of selecting Hall of Famers, the committee has continued to recognize the top amateur athlete in the Greater New Orleans area each month – the honors enter their 63rd year in 2019. To be eligible, an athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region. Each of the monthly award winners are honored in the summer at the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony, hosted by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Mandel Eugene, the star defender for St. Charles Catholic High School, was selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month for December.

In the month of December, Eugene was simply outstanding in helping lead St. Charles Catholic to the Division III state championship game. In three games, Eugene had 22.5 tackles, including three sacks, seven tackles for loss, a blocked punt and an 82-yard interception return for a touchdown. A Tulane signee, Eugene was named the Most Outstanding Player for St. Charles Catholic in the Division III state championship game, after recording five tackles, including a sack, as well as the 82-yard interception return for a score – the only score for the Comets in a 12-7 loss to Lafayette Christian. Eugene was coached by the legendary Frank Monica, who announced his retirement on Monday.

Eugene was selected for the honor over three other nominees.

• Jaylen Forbes, a 6-5, 185-pound swingman for the Tulane men’s basketball team, averaged 17 points per game while averaging 38 minute per outing for the Green Wave in December. A transfer from Alabama, Forbes had 21 points on 8-of-12 shots to go with six rebounds and three assists against Grambling (12/19). He also had a 16-point, nine-rebound performance against Arkansas Pine-Bluff (12/12). The sophomore from Florence, Miss., leads the Green Wave in scoring with 15.3 points per game (eighth in the American Athletic Conference) while shooting 39.3 percent from three-point range (12th in the AAC).
• JerKaila Jordan, a freshman for the Tulane women’s basketball team, averaged 15.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks per game in a 3-3 month of December for the Green Wave. The 5-9 point guard led Tulane in scoring in four of the six games. She earned American Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors for Dec. 7-13 and was also named Conference Freshman of the Week for the second straight week. Jordan was also named the Louisiana Sportswriters Association Player of the Week for Nov. 30-Dec. 6. Jordan is averaging 14.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and a team-best 3.1 assists per game for the 7-3 Green Wave.
• Solomon Washington led the Craver boys’ basketball team to a perfect 8-0 December as the Rams improved to 12-0 for the season. The 6-7 junior averaged 16.4 points, 1.0 rebounds, 3.6 blocks, 2.8 assists and 2.5 steals per game. He closed the month with a 16-point, 18-rebound performance with multiple fourth-quarter dunks to break open a close game in a 71-60 defeat of St. Aug in the championship of the St. Augustine Christmas Classic. He also had a 21-point, 11-rebound effort in a close win over Helen Cox and a 19-point outing, including a key late-game dunk, in a win over traditional power Madison Prep.