RECRUITING: Touted Findlay Prep guard chooses Texas

A two-year courtship of Findlay Prep point guard Cory Joseph has ended with UNLV coach Lon Kruger empty-handed.

Joseph, considered the nation’s top unsigned senior, announced Friday he will play college basketball at Texas. He called Kruger to deliver the news.

The Rebels’ top recruiting target was the 6-foot-3-inch Joseph, who said Villanova, Connecticut and Minnesota were his other finalists. Rivals.com ranks him as the No. 7 player in the class of 2010.

Joseph, who is from Toronto, attended Findlay Prep the past two years and helped lead the Pilots to a 65-2 record. His decision to sign with the Longhorns was not a major surprise, and Kruger has a backup plan that includes looking at college transfers.

“We’re always doing that regardless of this situation,” Kruger said.

Mike Moser, a 6-8 forward, recently announced his intention to leave UCLA, and he will be visiting UNLV. Moser, from Portland, Ore., is drawing interest from San Diego State and several Pac-10 Conference programs.

As a freshman, Moser played in 15 of 32 games for the Bruins. Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 92 player in the 2009 class.

The Rebels remain in the hunt for Dwayne Polee Jr., a 6-7 forward from Westchester High in Los Angeles.

Polee is expected to announce his decision today. He visited UNLV in November but is rumored to be favoring Georgia or St. John’s. The Red Storm got on Polee’s trail late, after Steve Lavin was hired as coach.

Two of Joseph’s teammates at Findlay Prep, Avery Bradley and Tristan Thompson, signed with Texas. Bradley, a Longhorns freshman last season, declared for early entry to the NBA Draft.

Joseph said he developed a bond with Bradley, Thompson and Longhorns coach Rick Barnes.

“I felt like Texas was the best fit. I had to go where I feel most comfortable,” Joseph said. “It was a hard decision. All of the schools in my top five are great. There’s no seconds, thirds, fourths or fifths.”

The Rebels’ coaches are recruiting Findlay Prep underclassmen Nick Johnson, a 6-3 guard, and Winston Shepard, a 6-7 forward.

Bishop Gorman High School sophomores Rosco Allen and Shabazz Muhammad have received offers from UNLV.