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On National Signing Day, Nicholls got one E.D. White basketball star.
This past week, the Colonels got another.
Cardinals standout senior Rafe Blades announced last Tuesday on social media that he’d accepted an invite to join the Colonels’ program next fall – an opportunity that he said was an honor and one of the biggest blessings he’d been given in his decorated, multi-sport career.
Blades, a 6-foot, 4-inch post, is the second Cardinals player to commit to the Colonels in this signing class. He joins standout guard Kevin Johnson, who signed a scholarship with the team earlier this spring.
“I’ve been going to Nicholls basketball games since I was 5 years old,” Blades said. “It’s exciting to be able to move to the next level and I’m very excited about the opportunity.”
Blades’ path to college athletics was uncertain up until recently.
The talented athlete is also a standout pitcher for the Cardinals’ baseball team. One of the aces of the team, which made it to the Division II State Playoffs, Blades said he’d received some interest from universities around the Southeast who were interested in his services on the mound after graduation.
But after a brief wait and see period, the Thibodaux native said he committed recently to a future in basketball – a sport which he’s excelled throughout his prep career.
This past season, Blades averaged a double-double for E.D. White. Together with Johnson, the duo helped lead the Cardinals to a winning season and a berth in the Division II State Playoffs where the team won a game, before being eliminated by St. Thomas More.
Blades said took the initiative in his own recruitment. He got in touch with Nicholls men’s basketball coach Richie Riley and told him that he was available and willing to walk-on to the team for the 2017-18 season if they had open roster spots available.
Riley got back to Blades right away and said that the Colonels would love to have the local product for the future.
The rest, as they say, is history.
“I contacted Coach Riley myself,” Blades said. “He had seen me play when he would come watch Kevin play. When we talked, he told me that they had a spot for me as a walk-on, and it was just awesome. I am so excited to get that chance.”
Blades said the reason why he wanted to play so badly for the Colonels is because of some family history, which has tied him to the program.
Blades said both his mother and father were Colonels. His father, Rafe Blades Sr., played baseball for Nicholls and his mother graduated from the university as a student.
“It’s an honor to be able to play for both of my parents’ alma mater,” Blades said.
But in addition to the history, the current momentum the program has under Riley was also a big attraction.
Blades said he loves Riley’s coaching style, saying that he cannot wait to suit up and play for the Colonels second-year coach.
In Riley’s first season with the team, Nicholls endured suspensions and an unforgiving injury bug, but yet still managed to earn 14 victories – three more than the team got in 2015-16.
Blades said he believes in what the Colonels are doing and pointed to a strong recruiting class as proof that his four seasons with the team will be special.
“I just love the intensity and the passion that Coach Riley has for the game of basketball,” Blades said. “I’ve seen it first hand from the stands this past year. He loves what he does and it’s contagious.”
The future Colonel also said that Riley believes in his game, which was a big part of his decision. He said he knows that it will be hard to be a post player in college because he’s undersized, but that he looks forward to working on his game throughout his career to develop into a small forward-type player.
Blades already has shooting range in addition to his touch around the basket.
“Coach Riley told me that he likes the passion that I have for the game and the love that I have for Nicholls basketball,” Blades said. “Those things were what they liked most about me.”
But Blades isn’t afraid to state obvious, either.
Part of going to Nicholls has to do with a chance to stay united with Johnson, too, a guy who he calls a close friend.
Blades said he thinks it’s a great thing that he will be able to play college ball with his high school teammate – something that not many players around the country get the opportunity to do.
Together, he said, the duo will look to make Thibodaux proud as they both represent E.D. White, the city of Thibodaux and now also the area’s only four-year university.
“Being able to stay with Kevin Johnson – my teammate and my good friend – is another perk that makes this all great,” Blades said. “All-in-all, this is going to be an awesome experience. I’m looking forward to it all very much. I can’t wait to get started.”
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