One of Louisiana’s top senior basketball players will begin his college career just across hometown New Orleans.
John Curtis point guard Autrail Manning Jr. announced his commitment Thursday to UNO where he will follow some familiar footsteps of some of the program’s legends to represent the city on the lakefront.
While many of the Privateers’ best stretches came before he was born or when he was an infant, Manning said he was aware of some of the history and eager to help build back in that direction.
“I’ve heard about it a lot around New Orleans,” Manning said. “They’ve had some good guys from UNO that I know, like Bo McCalebb and (James) Parlow and guys like that, and they’ve turned into trainers now, and they’re just passing it down to us now, to me now basically. I’m in their position.”
McCalebb and Parlow, two of the top players in program history, played in the early 2000s out of O. Perry Walker and G.W. Carver, respectively.
Like those predecessors, both of whom with he’s trained, Manning is an all-state guard who has been one of the stars of the city’s prep basketball landscape throughout his career.
The 6-1, 165-pound floor general was a second-team selection as a junior with averages of 13.5 points, 3.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 2.7 steals. And when the 2026 lists are released this month, he figures to be a strong candidate for honors again after a District MVP performance leading his Patriots to their first title since 2012.
Manning averaged 14.2 points, 3.0 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 2.9 steals per contest as an efficient, unselfish leader of a balanced squad.
“I think coach Stacy (Holloway) recruited me because he knows I can make the right plays at the right times and I can come in and be a good point guard for him,” he said. “I can run the floor with some other guys. I haven’t really met most of the people yet, but when I have a chance to meet ’em, it’s gonna be good.”
Manning looks forward to learning and building chemistry with his future teammates and said attacking his college strength and conditioning program will be the other biggest focal point in his transition to the next level.
But other than those areas of development, he’s confident in his game’s ability to translate and said McCalebb also told Manning he expects him to be a great fit with the Privateers.
“It feels good to announce that I can play at the next level,’ Manning said. “I’ve gotta real put the work in, put the grind in. It’s college now. It’s not like high school no more. I’ve gotta really get in the weights…. That’s gonna be my only bad thing about my I’ll say, but once I get the weight on me, it’s gonna be easy for me in college, I think, even though I’m playing against grown men. I feel like when I get that size, still nobody’s gonna be able to stop me.”
