Cory Joseph picks Texas, Dwayne Polee up in the air, Mike Moser visits UNLV

By Ryan Greene

Friday, April 23, 2010 | 5:50 p.m.

If ever there was a wild roller coaster of a 48-hour period in the world of recruiting for the UNLV men's basketball program in the Lon Kruger era, Thursday and Friday would be it.

Findlay Prep guard Cory Joseph is now out of the picture, Westchester (Calif.) High swingman Dwayne Polee may or may not be out, and onto the scene now could be 6-foot-8 UCLA transfer Mike Moser.

Joseph, who Rivals.com ranks as the No. 7 prospect in the 2010 class, told ESPN.com Friday afternoon that he has committed to Texas, where he'll join Findlay teammate and close friend Tristan Thompson. The duo combined to lead the Pilots earlier this month to their second consecutive title at the ESPN Rise National High School Invitational.

The Findlay coaching staff confirmed the commitment, while attempts made by the Sun to reach Joseph were unsuccessful. He's at home in Toronto through the weekend.

"I had a great relationship with coach (Rick) Barnes and all the staff and players," Joseph told ESPN. "I feel that it's the best fit for me overall."

Joseph had long mulled over his final list of five schools, which also included — in no particular order — UNLV, Villanova, Minnesota and Connecticut.

It was long rumored that Texas' chances would improve greatly if another former Findlay teammate — Avery Bradley — left early for the 2010 NBA Draft, meaning more immediate playing time could be available.

Bradley did declare for the draft after averaging 11.6 points per game as a freshman this season for the Longhorns, but has not yet signed with an agent, leaving the door open for him to return to Austin for his sophomore campaign.

As for UNLV's other target in the 2010 senior class — the 6-foot-7, high-flying Polee — it's nothing but mixed signals right now, which won't be set straight until he makes his intentions known Saturday night.

Polee will announce his choice Saturday at halftime of the Collision All-Star game at El Camino College in Los Angeles. The game is at 6:30 p.m..

Thursday night, Polee sent a text message to Adam Zagoria of zagsblog.com saying that it was between Georgia and St. John's for his services, thus essentially dropping UNLV from his radar.

Then, in a subsequent phone interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Polee would not confirm that it was in fact down to a two-horse race.

Several attempts made by the Sun via phone calls and text messages to get in touch with Polee this week have gone unreturned.

UNLV has been on Polee for quite some time.

The Los Angeles City Section Player of the Year who led the Comets to a second consecutive Division I state title earlier this month, took an official visit to UNLV late in November, watching the Rebels knock off then-No. 16 Louisville, 76-71.

Rumors began swirling that he was close to committing to UNLV not too long after winning the state title, but his recruitment has dragged on a bit with the introduction of some new contenders in the race, such as New Mexico, UTEP and St. John's.

St. John's has emerged as a late favorite behind the efforts of new coach — and former UCLA boss — Steve Lavin.

However, the UNLV staff hasn't been sitting by the phone waiting on decisions from Joseph and Polee.

Visiting campus this weekend is Moser, who earlier this month announced his intention to transfer from UCLA following a freshman campaign in which he saw limited action.

Moser only played 4.7 minutes per game in 15 appearances for the 14-18 Bruins this season, averaging 0.6 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.3 assists.

Originally from Portland, Ore., Moser was ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 92 prospect in the 2009 senior class. At 6-8 and 195 pounds, he projects out to be a player at the collegiate level similar to another Bruin-turned-Rebel — Chace Stanback.

For more updates on the UNLV basketball recruiting front throughout the weekend, stay tuned to lasvegassun.com/rebels.