For the first time since 2012 and first time in Class 5A/Division I, the John Curtis boys’ basketball program is state champion.
And the balanced, top-seeded Patriots (29-2) flexed their muscle in the process with a hot start and two-way clinic on New Orleans Catholic League rival Edna Karr (28-11) in a 68-40 cruise to the D-I Select crown.
“Our guys came out, man, they fought hard, they stuck to the game plan and never wavered,” coach Biko Paris told the LHSAA Network postgame broadcast. “Not for once did they try to do it on their own. And we’ve been talking about it for a long time now, trying to put a full 32 minutes together start to finish, and I feel like tonight for the first time in a while, the boys were able to do that.”
John Curtis raced to a quick 9-0 lead out of the gates and held the Cougars to just nine points on four field goals in the entire first half to stretch out a 32-9 lead at the midway mark.
Five different Patriots scored in the opening period, eight by the half and 10 in the game with a mixture of takeaways-turned-transition and patient halfcourt ball-movement setting up a wealth of opportunities from inside the lane to beyond the arc and everywhere in between.
The team shot 25-for-52 (48.1%) from the floor, including a scorching 9-for-21 (42.9%) from beyond the arc —
Sophomore forward Jonnie Walker led the way with 16 points on 5-for-7 (71.4%) shooting, four rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and a steal.
“Just coming together and playing our game, it worked out all season — we only lost two games,” Walker said. “So just coming out and playing our game… You know, a little nerves, but that’s normal. Just trying to calm down and just play the game.”
Eighth-graders Tory Walker Jr. and Chance Foster were next on the Patriots’ long list of scorers with nine and eight points, respectively.
Walker’s highlights included a transition dunk early in the second quarter that helped continue to snowball momentum, along with two rebounds, a blocked shot and an assist.
Foster’s eight points all came after halftime with a 3-for-3 (100%) shooting performance with two third-quarter 3-pointers, two assists and two steals.
Senior guards Autrail Manning and Jakyri Martin and junior guard Jewellz Tapp, an ascending cornerback prospect on the football field, each chipped in seven points, including big baskets during the first-quarter flurry.
Manning added three rebounds and two assists in the finale of his decorated prep career, and Martin had three rebounds, three blocked shots, a steal and an assist. Tapp finished with two rebounds, two steals and an assist.
“Man, it feels great,” Manning said. “I’ve been here before, but I finished it. I finished the mission. This is all we’ve prepared for and all we’ve worked for, and this is all I’ve ever wanted.”
John Curtis senior guard Autrail Manning was among the leaders of a balanced and dominant Patriots’ performance Saturday, March 14, 2026, in the Division-I Select title game against Edna Karr. (Photo: Bret H. McCormick, One T Photography)
Edna Karr continued to battle down the stretch despite the lopsided challenge.
Junior guard Khalil Fisher led the Cougars with a team-high 12 points, a game-high 10 rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot.
Junior center Lambert Marquis was another bright spot with eight points on 4-for-4 (100%) shooting inside with three rebounds.
And senior guard Kingston Harris and junior guard Delvin Jordan had six point each, plus four rebounds and two assists by Jordan.
“I want to say congratulations to coach (Taurus) Howard and Edna Karr,” Paris said. “Stand-up program. First-class. Well-deserved to be here. I think a lot of people were surprised, but I really wasn’t. They play hard. They played to the end, so I give a lot of credit to those guys.”
The championship completed a mission on which the Patriots’ coach felt like he’d missed out as a player when Hurricane Katrina moved his family to Texas midway through his own high school career.
Paris signed with Boston College out of Cypress Christian (Houston) in 2007 and later, following his college and professional playing career, spent a decade coaching at UMass-Lowell.
“For me, it means everything,” he said. “I wanted to, my goal was to finish my high school career at Curtis and to win a state championships. Unfortunately that was taken away from me with Katrina. So when I moved back home from coaching in Boston, and they presented this opportunity to me and I met these guys, it’s like a full-circle moment for me.
“I wanted to win one bad as a player. I couldn’t. So to be able to come back and invest in these guys and pour all that I’ve learned over the last 20-something years of coaching, it means everything. This is almost better than winning it as a player, to be honest with you, just because I’m so much older and it means I can appreciate it so much more with all the stuff that I’ve been through in my life. Like these guys said, man, we worked hard for it, so I’m excited for these guys.”
