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StumbleFindlay guard Joseph scores 33, talks about UNLV
The 3-0 Pilots are beating opponents by an average score of 127-88
Findlay College Prep senior guard Cory Joseph after scoring 33 points Friday night to lead the Pilots to a 122-90 victory over Princeton Country Day of New Jersey. Joseph will take his fifth and final official recruiting visit to UNLV next month.
Friday, Nov. 20, 2009 | 11:46 p.m.
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Anyone who arrived late to Findlay College Prep’s basketball game Friday night against Princeton Country Day of New Jersey likely did a double take.
The scoreboard read: Guest 84, Home 17.
It was a mere malfunction, though, as the contraption couldn’t register triple digits. The Pilots actually led, 117-84, and cruised to a 3-0 record with a 122-90 thumping of the Storm.
Findlay, the defending ESPN high school national champion and the country’s consensus No. 1 team, probably just burned out a few bulbs in the Henderson International School gym scoreboard.
The Pilots scored 137 points in their first game and followed that with 121. They are averaging 127 points, and super point guard Cory Joseph led the way Friday night by scoring 33 points.
“They came out with some energy,” Joseph said of the Storm. “They caught us on our heels sometimes, and we caught them on their heels sometimes. It was a good, fast-paced game.”
Joseph seemed a bit relieved to have decided, three days earlier, to take his fifth and final collegiate recruiting visit to UNLV.
He has taken official visits to Texas, Connecticut, Villanova and Minnesota. He chose UNLV, where former teammate Carlos Lopez plays, over Florida and Mississippi State for his last official visit.
He’ll take that formal trip to the UNLV campus the second weekend of December.
“It should be good, real fun,” said Joseph, a 6-foot-3 guard who led Findlay to a 33-0 record last season. “The coaches there are great people.”
Rebels assistant coach Lew Hill watched the Findlay game Friday night from the corner of the gym, and UNLV coach Lon Kruger has attended many Pilots game in recent seasons.
“They’re so close,” Joseph said of the proximity of UNLV to Findlay in the Henderson foothills. “I talk to them all the time. I’m close to the coaches. They have great people there.
“Plus, their system is a lot like Findlay’s. They’re fast-paced and involve ball screens, and their defense is similar.”
The Pilots’ defense, however, had third-year coach Mike Peck rolling his eyes when he walked out of his team’s locker room after the game.
It was the second time Peck, who is 68-1 guiding the Pilots, watched Findlay yield at least 90 points this season.
Is that going to cut it, Peck said, when Findlay travels to those games in Peoria, Ill., Boston and Fort Myers, Fla., in coming weeks?
“Stinginess and stubbornness,” said Peck of what he needs his players to understand about defense.
The game also featured the debut of Henry Uwadiae, a 6-10, 200-pound sophomore center from Benin City, Nigeria, who arrived in Las Vegas seven days earlier.
Peck put him in with 1:20 left, and the lefty scored on the left side, on a nifty feed from junior guard Nick Johnson, with 34 seconds remaining. Uwadiae got fouled but he missed the free throw.
Senior power forward Godwin Okonji, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, who entered the game averaging 18 points and 13.5 rebounds, tallied only three points. He is playing a key role in Uwadiae’s transition.
Peck has started with the basics, and he wants Uwadiae to learn how to be quick, to do everything fast.
“If that means getting from here, in the gym, to lunch … then do it fast,” Peck said. Okonji ensures that that message gets across.
Peck’s offense is in high gear, though, and senior power forward Tristan Thompson (28 points) and junior guard Jabari Brown (23) provided additional punch next to Joseph.
Brown fell a point shy of his team-leading scoring average, and Thompson entered the game averaging 20.5 points on 75 percent shooting.
Joseph saw his average drop to 17 after tallying only six points, because of foul trouble, in his last game.
That didn’t bother him, though.
“I mean, I’m a team player,” Joseph said. “I try to get my teammates into it. If I score six I don’t care, as long as we win. If I score 20 or 30 … whatever it takes to win.”
Follow Rob Miech on Twitter at twitter.com/RobMiech.
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keep showin the love to this kid and he will come. He seems very interested. He wants to come to a place where he can make an impact from day 1, be a Runnin' Rebel and you will be the man from day 1!
Wouldn't CJ be the icing on the cake. I hope I am wrong by what I said in the past about CJ going to Texas. I honestly didn't believe UNLV had a shot at him, I'll keep my fingers crossed.
It's a very good shot, beton ... we'll keep you up to date on the latest info ... good stuff coming this week. Findlay plays at 5 pm tonight, by the way. All of LV should show up and support Cory, specifically, but that program in general. It's a jewel south of Eastern from the 215. Or take Horizon Ridge to Sandy Ridge, then all the way up (south) until it ends... Henderson Int'l is right there on the right side
I'm not getting my hopes up too high, despite the fact that landing CJ would be a tremendous boost for this awakening program. I think Texas definitely has the inside track, his best friend is playing there and they have a great squad already. The fact that his last official visit is UNLV is definitely NOT a bad sign, however.
The fact that he see's with Hawkins and Marshall if you come in and earn time you will play as a freshman is big. The thing that scares me is we are deep at guard next year with Wallace, Jasper and Tre being Sr's next year, Oscar a Jr. and Marshall and Hawkins Soph. but i am sure they would find a way to get him on the floor!
liljoe, I agree with you about the "last visit" being invaluable. Cory enjoys the area and the people ... and I think he likes not having to shovel snow or don four or five layers just to walk to school. Texas is not such a shoo-in. I'll explore that further in the coming week.
bornnraised, coming in, going hard in practice and earning clock is quite evident at UNLV. They don't pigeon-hole you, either. You're not a "1" "3" or a "5" ... you're just a baller. Get in there, play defense, be successful and you stay on the court. Kruger already has some nifty four-guard combos, and Cory would make those lethal. Seeing him dunk in pre-game warmups last night was stunning.
He jams as if he's 6-8. Princeton Country Day got lost en route to Henderson Int'l, so the Pilots put on about a 10-minute dunkfest for fans.
Nick Johnson, as usual, was ridiculous, but Cory took the blue ribbon with a cram from the left side.
He lobbed it out in front of him, and as he jetted in to grab it and soar at the rim, he quickly grabbed it with his left hand and zipped it between his legs to his right hand, then the follow through with the mini-windmill...
What's priceless, though, is the regular smile on his face. He absolutely loves the game.
Cory, I have lived here for 30 years.......if you become a Runnin' Rebel, you will have the whole entire town turned upside down and you will be a rock star here! You will be our biggest high school recruit in well over 10 years and will be just what we need to push UNLV on to the elite national basketball scene. Come here and make a difference!
I love your game and can't wait for you to suit up in the scarlet and grey!
All I can say is WOW! Findlay prep can compete with some D1 schools right now. Go to a Findlay prep game is like going to an allstar game. It was worth the price of admission!
No doubt ofa, spread the word. It's a jewel. And UNLV fans might want to show Cory what he might mean to them. A sign or two??? Packed Henderson Int'l gym??? Just thinking out loud
Rob, does Cory go to Rebel games? The Thomas and Mack is going to rock this year, it's already loud as hell and it's only game two. If it was at an earlier time today I'd head down there.
Cory has gone to unlv games, len ... a few last season. I wish it were earlier today, too ... I'll be taking off rt after the Findlay game, praying that the refs swallow the whistles ... been REAL tough out there at the two games last weekend and last night. FT parade. Not hoops at all. If I can get outta there by 6:35 ... I think time will be on my side ...
If we sign this tremendous kid, Sufferin might actually have something good to say. We might be a second round NIT team in his eyes. :)
Put yourself in Cory Joseph's shoes for a second people. Texas, Villanova, UCONN, and Minnesota compared to UNLV is a no-brainer. Nationally ranked teams that are always on TV, whether it be ESPN, CBS, etc. or UNLV, who are on the Mountain West channel. Sorry people but if you were a big time recruit you wouldn't choose UNLV over those schools and get forgot about in the Mountain West Conference so don't expect this kid to do so either!
Minnesota? Sorry to rain on your parade but last time I checked, when we played you guys we blew you guys out!
Wow, Mr. Miech, are you writing for a newspaper or a UNLV booster site? :-) Openly suggesting people take signs to games for players? Anyway, Devoe is off to a great start at Minnesota for a top 25 team. There will be two years of fantastic Joseph Brothers hookups in Minneapolis and a team with a legit shot to win the Big 10. Good luck to Findlay Prep and Cory this year. Bring home another Nat'l Title and then you can come and bring one with Devoe to Minneapolis.
rebelsfan11 - Sorry to rain on your parade but the last time I checked, it was Tubby's first year when we played. Since then Minnesota has gone onto the NCAA tourney while UNLV is playing in NIT's. Not to mention Tubby has the Gophers ranked in the top 25 this year as well. No dis to UNLV, as Krueger is a good coach but I hardly think a game 3 years ago is very relevant to Cory Joseph. The current state of the programs migh be however.