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 62nd year in 2018. 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.

Photo Courtesy of Loyola Athletics

Zach Wrightsil, a freshman forward for the Loyola University men’s basketball team, was selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month for January. Wrightsil is one of the top scorers in the country for the Wolf Pack – in 10 January games, the freshman from Texas averaged 22.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.8 blocks per game as Loyola went 6-4. He poured in a career-best 34 points (on 11-of-16 shooting) in a Jan. 24 win over Florida College and added six other 20-point performances during the month – he scored in double figures in all 10 games (low of 16). In an 87-79 win over Mobile on Jan. 5, the freshman flirted with a quadruple-double, tallying 16 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and eight steals, as well as four blocked shots. The 6-6 forward was named conference player of the week on January 14th, his second such honor of the season. Wrightsil currently ranks 11th in the NAIA in points per game at 20.2. He is currently third in the Southern States Athletic Conference in points per game, seventh in rebounds per game, fourth in assists per game, 10th in steals per game and seventh in blocks per game. He also leads the conference in double-doubles this year with 10, including six in the month of January.

The Loyola star earned the honor over three other basketball standouts – two at the collegiate level and one high school star. Jas Hill, a junior for the Xavier University women’s basketball team, averaged 14.7 points and 5.3 rebounds as she led the Gold Nuggets to a 7-1 record in January, their best January winning percentage in 12 years. Holy Cross High School’s Kalil Thomas averaged 14.8 points and 6.1 rebounds as he led the Tigers to an 8-1 record in January. The other January nomination was Alyssa Washington, a senior guard for the Dillard University women’s basketball team. Washington averaged 17.4 points and 6.4 rebounds as she keyed a 6-1 January for the Bleu Devils.