Dwayne Polee Jr. set to announce college choice Saturday night

By Ryan Greene

Thursday, April 22, 2010 | 4 p.m.

The wait for Dwayne Polee Jr.'s decision on where he'll play college basketball next season will end Saturday night.

Polee, who led Westchester (Calif.) High to a second consecutive Division I state title last month, will announce his choice at halftime of Saturday's Collision All-Star game in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Times first reported the story, as the boys' all-star showcase will tip at 6:30 p.m. at El Camino College.

It is expected that Polee will decide between — in no particular order — UNLV, St. John's and Georgia.

Recent attempts made by the Sun to reach Polee have been unsuccessful.

At 6-foot-7 with an impressive skill set that includes a near-40-inch vertical leap, Polee caught UNLV's attention long ago.

Polee took an official visit to the UNLV campus in late November, as he watched the Rebels knock off then-No. 16 Louisville at the Thomas & Mack Center, 76-61.

There were rumors late last month that Polee was about to make a commitment to UNLV, but his huge senior season for the Comets — including being named the Los Angeles City Section's Player of the Year — brought on quite a bit of buzz for the forward who Rivals.com ranks as a three-star prospect.

Polee recently took a visit to St. John's, which last month hired former UCLA head coach Steve Lavin to take over.

For a moment, Polee was believed to also be considering New Mexico and UTEP.

UTEP earlier this month hired Tim Floyd, the former Southern California head coach who had drawn an early commitment from Polee as a high school sophomore. Polee, however, re-opened his recruitment after Floyd and his staff resigned following the 2008-09 season.

Joseph to return to town next week

According to Rivals.com, Findlay Prep point guard Cory Joseph is now the highest-rated unsigned player in the 2010 senior class.

There's a chance that might not remain the case for much longer.

After helping the Pilots claim a second consecutive title in the ESPN Rise National High School Invitational on April 3 in Baltimore, Md., Joseph has been in the home stretch of his recruitment.

Findlay coach Mike Peck confirmed that Joseph is spending the week back at home in Toronto and will return to the Henderson foothills in time for school next week.

Joseph long has said that following his senior season his intent was to sit down with his family and make a final decision from the five schools on his list. That list includes UNLV, Texas, Villanova, UConn and Minnesota, with Joseph never having indicated that any one of that group was more of a favorite than another.

Rivals ranks Joseph as the No. 7 prospect in the 2010 senior crop, and he is fresh off of appearances in both the McDonald's All-American game in Columbus, Ohio, and the Jordan Brand Classic in New York City.