Randi Brown, Jared Butler share January’s Metro Amateur Athlete of the Month honor

NEW ORLEANS – Randi Brown, from the University of New Orleans women’s basketball team, and Jared Butler, from the Riverside Academy boys’ basketball team, have been selected as co-winners of the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month honor for January. Monthly award-winners are chosen in voting by the Greater New Orleans Sports Award Selection Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Brown, a senior guard from Houma, La., is the leading scorer in the Southland Conference with 21.8 points per game. During the month of January, she averaged 19.6 points as the Privateers went 6-3 during the month. She exceeded 25 points three times: 29 vs. Texas A&M Corpus-Christi, 28 vs. Lamar, 28 vs. Stephen F. Austin. She also had 23 points in a win over Northwestern State and hit a game-winning jumper with three-tenths of a second to go in a 52-50 win over UIW. She finished with 19 in the win. With 2,058 career points, Randi Brown ranks fifth all-time among Southland Conference scorers.

Butler, meanwhile, averaged 21.3 points per game, 8.9 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 3.4 steals per game as Riverside remained unbeaten with seven victories to improve to 26-0 on the season. Butler earned Most Valuable Player honors as the Rebels won the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic at the Alario Center in Westwego. He tallied five 20-point games as well as a pair of triple-doubles during the month. He has signed to play next season at Alabama.

Brown and Butler weren’t the only basketball stars nominated for the monthly honor as three other New Orleans area standouts were also in the mix. Kalani Brown, the 6-7 sophomore center for the Baylor women’s basketball team, averaged 19.5 points, 11.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 59 percent from the field in a perfect 8-0 month for the Bears. Jalen David, a 6-4 senior swingman for the Xavier University men’s basketball team, averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game as he led the Gold Rush to a 6-2 record and a spot in the NAIA national rankings. John Curtis Christian School sophomore Jerkaila Jordan led the Patriot girls’ basketball team to an outstanding January while scoring 16.1 points per game, including a 35-point effort in a win over Salmen.

The Greater New Orleans Sports Selection Committee has been selecting an Amateur Athlete of the Month each month since 1957. The athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region in order to be eligible. Each of the monthly award winners will be honored in the summer at the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony, hosted by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Recent Greater New Orleans Amateur Athletes of the Month:

2018
January Randi Brown Basketball University of New Orleans
Jared Butler Basketball Riverside Academy

2017
December Alexis Lavarine Boxing Fontainebleau High School
November Anthony Williams Football Hahnville High School
October Devin Brumfield Football Covington High School
September Julien Gums Football De La Salle High School
August Christopher Turpin Baseball New Orleans Boosters
July Cyle Clayton Baseball Pedal Valves Cardinals
June Jared Poché Baseball LSU
May Ian Landreneau Baseball John Curtis School
April Aleia Hobbs Track & Field LSU
March Erik Thomas Basketball University of New Orleans
February Jake Rando Wrestling Holy Cross