Louisville Recruiting, Marquette Recruiting, Villanova Recruiting

CLASS OF 2010 INTRO: CORY JOSEPH

2010 point guard Cory Joseph is a highly sought after recruit

by Zach Smart

Findley College Prep, the Las Vegas prep powerhouse, continues to take the high school basketball world by storm.

A prestigious Division-I launchpad, Findley has improved to 29-0. Blowout after blowout, Findley continues to obliterate the competition. In the month of February, they’ve made quick work of the competition, delivering drubbings by an average of 30.6 points.

More often than not, Findley has found themselves playing with house money.

Findley gutted out a pivotal 62-58 victory over Orlando Christian Prep at the Monteverde Academy Invatational Jan.31. The high-powered squad that features UNLV-bound 6-foot-10 center Carlos Lopez and Texas-bound Avery Bradely, has put the pedal to the metal and watched their souped-up,
speedball offense leave opponents in the slow-lane ever since.

While Lopez, Bradley and others may be the big ticket items in the class of 2009, the high-end star of the future is a pass-first point guard Cory Joseph, has staked his claim as one of the best true point guards in the country.

Joseph, the Canada-bred guard and younger brother of Minnesota freshman Devoe Joseph is averaging 10 points, five assists, and six boards.

His numbers could be even higher, ballooning as if these innocent digits were on the same “stuff” that Jose Canseco and Alex Rodriguez took.

But the blink-quick guard–whose highlight reel alley-oop lobs to Lopez have become a workaday routine–has experienced playing time cuts. With all the lopsided victories this season, Joseph does his job and is relieved.

When the intensity is ratcheted up a notch and Findley is actually given a game, however, the 6-foot-3, 175-pound guard doesn’t flinch.

Joseph erupted for 21 points, eight boards, five steals, and three assists in a pivotal win over Wilmington, Delaware power, St. Marks. He’s shot the ball at a 50 percent clip from the perimeter and peddled out nine or more assists on three occasions.

Joseph is being hounded down by a plethora of schools from all around the country.

According to Joseph’s coach, Michael Peck, Texas A & M, Minnesota, Marquette, Florida, UNLV, and Texas Tech are in most active pursuit of the electrifying guard. Louisville and Villanova have also expressed interest.

While Joseph is tailor made for the Big East, Minnesota is heavily pursuing him … Obviously, the lure of playing alongside his older brother is a good recruiting pitch.

Findley hasn’t been much of a Big East pipeline, mostly because of its proximity. Of last year’s class (2008), players moved on to schools like UNLV, New Mexico, Florida State, and Kentucky. The 2009 class, so far, is headed to Texas, UNLV and Illinois.

Joseph put on a show during the National Prep Showcase in Smithfield, R.I. back during Thanksgiving time. He employed a dish-before-swish mentality, orchestrated alley-oops and wowing runs that blew the game out of the water early, and racked up seven assists in 25 minutes. The four-star recruit and no.8 ranked point guard in the country was as good as advertised.

To Big East or not to Big East?

“I think right now Cory is just receptive to taking it all in,” said Peck. “We talked about it last week. The plan is to narrow the list down, and think about which official visits to make in the spring and summer.”

Peck knows that Joseph has all the tools to etch his imprint at the next level. He describes his guard as a natural winner and someone who surrenders individual shine for team glory every time he steps on the
floor.

“Cory’s basketball IQ and his mental approach is off the charts. When we first saw him, we knew he was a special player. The bottom line for him is ‘help my teammates and get my team to win.’”

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