One more high profile recruit selects his school

Part of the reason that Brandon Knight's announcement of where he would be attending college was so important was that it could influence where the rest of the uncommitted players in the class of 2010 would end up.

Knight chose Kentucky. Later that week, Josh Selby settled on Kentucky while Doron Lamb followed Knight to Lexington.

Cory Joseph is headed to Texas.
(photo credit: DeportivoDigital)

The latest piece fell into place on Friday, when Cory Joseph, a consensus top ten recruit, finally decided on Texas.

"Coach [Rick] Barnes and the staff, we have a good relationship," Joseph told Adam Zagoria. "The style of play, they go up and down. I really feel like it can excel my game to the next level there. It was the best fit for me."

Joseph, who led Findlay Prep to their second straight National High School Invitational title, follows in the footsteps of Texas Longhorn Avery Bradley, another former Findlay guard who is currently an early entry candidate in the NBA Draft.

Joseph also joins fellow Candians Tristan Thompson, a teammate at Findlay, and Myck Kabongo, one of the top recruits in the class of 2011, as commits to Rick Barnes.

Joseph is a very important get for Barnes. Assuming Bradley keeps his name in the NBA Draft pool, he joins Damion James, Justin Mason, and Dexter Pittman as key losses for a Texas team that struggled this season despite lofty expectations. One of the biggest issues for the Longhorns this year was point guard play. Bradley and Mason weren't true point guards. Dogus Balbay was an offensive liability. J'Covan Brown couldn't defend a plastic bag.

The 6'3" Joseph is a talented scorer and playmaker that works on the defensive end of the floor. He will have some competition for minutes in the backcourt -- along with Brown and Balbay, Texas also returns Varez Ward and Jai Lucas -- but the freshman may be the best of that group.

Texas likely won't be a preseason Final Four favorite this season, but if Barnes can manage to keep Joseph and Thompson around for a few seasons, the future looks bright in Austin.