Chad Pourciau, who led the Breaux Bridge boys’ basketball team to the state finals in 2020 and a state championship in 2019, has guided the New Iberia Senior High Yellow Jackets to a district championship and a No. 4 playoff seed in his first year back in New Iberia.

Pourciau takes over a program that had sustained success under the leadership of Todd Russ, who departed for an assistant coaching position at Zachary High School. Pourciau said that taking over a successful program is often more challenging, since the expectations are higher.

“I think that it’s tougher,” he said. “When I got to Breaux bridge, there wasn’t a lot of expectation, so I felt like the only way we could go was up. Over here, Coach (Russell) Menard took his team to the Top 28 in ’99, Coach Russ has six or seven district championships in his time here, so the guys before me have had success.

“I think it’s tougher because you have to continue and try to raise the bar from what they did, and they set the bar pretty high.”

Pourciau, who was on the NISH coaching staff for several years before working at Breaux Bridge, has made the jump to 5A look easy so far, something he credits to the difference in classes being minimal.

“I think 5A is deeper,” he explained. “I don’t want to say tougher because the top teams in 4A can compete with 5A teams. Whereas there are six or eight really good teams in 4A, in 5A there are sixteen or eighteen. I don’t think that one is togher, I just think that it’s deeper. There are more good teams in 5A.”

The Yellow Jackets, who entered the playoffs with a 27-7 record, will host No. 29 seed Sam Houston. NISH has already beaten Sam Houston 65-24 in the regular season, but Pourciau said that their history can either be a blessing or a curse.

“I see it two ways,” he said. “I see it as an advantage because we know everything about them, but I also see it as a disadvantage because they know everything about us. I really don’t know how to feel about it. We’re both so familiar with each other that I don’t know if it’s better for us or worse. I see both sides of the coin.”

Regardless of whether or not his opponents come in with an advantage, Pourciau said that his team has been tested and shown to be one of the best in the state.

“This team is battle tested,” Pourciau explained. “We’ve played tough teams, we’ve played in big games. The Southside game was a huge one, we trailed by 7 in the fourth quarter. We’ve been in tough moments, so I think that if we show and play like we are capable of, we’re going to be just fine. It’ll be fun. Playoff time is always fun. Survive and advance, lose and go home, there’s a lot on the line.”

NISH will host the Broncos today. The winner will advance to face either No. 13 seed Barbe or No. 20 seed Sulphur. Tip off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.