UNLV recruit Cory Joseph visits ’Nova, heads to Minnesota

By Rob Miech

Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009 | 8:36 a.m.

Three down, two to go for Findlay College Prep ace guard Cory Joseph.

The senior who guided the Pilots to the ESPN national championship last season visited Villanova over the weekend and got to know coach Jay Wright, his staff and the Wildcats a little better.

“It went well,” said Findlay coach Mike Peck. “It gave him a feel for the area and school. He got with the team a little bit.

“But Cory doesn’t say a whole lot. He’s not super-excited by anything. Really, that’s one of the qualities that’s so endearing about him, his poise and composure. He’s never too high or too low. He’s even-keeled.”

Joseph, the seventh-ranked national prospect according to the recruiting service Rivals.com, has visited Texas with Findlay teammate Tristan Thompson, who has given an oral commitment to Longhorns coach Rick Barnes.

In addition, Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict’s guard Myck Kabongo, a lifelong friend of Joseph and Thompson from the Toronto area, has committed to Barnes.

And Avery Bradley, a star of last season’s title team at Findlay, is at Texas and might start for the Longhorns this season.

Joseph visited UConn two weeks ago, so Villanova was his third trip.

He leaves for Minnesota, where his brother Devoe is a sophomore guard this season, on Friday morning.

The following weekend, Peck said, Joseph will go home to Canada and talk with his mother. When he returns to Las Vegas, Joseph might decide whether he’ll take his fifth and final official visit to either Florida, Mississippi State or UNLV.

“He might have an idea,” Peck said, “and he’ll talk to us about it.”