Cory Joseph, PG

Both the Texas coaching staff and professional scouts were greatly surprised when Joseph first announced that he was leaving the university after just one season to test his wares in the National Basketball Association. He joined shooting guard Jordan Hamilton and Joseph's long-time friend, forward Tristan Thompson, on April 22nd, 2011, to hold their press conference announcing they had entered the 2011 NBA Draft.

"I want to use this two-week period of time to get a better feel of what my draft status would be this year," Joseph said. "I will finish my classes here, hopefully go through some workouts for NBA teams and personnel and use feedback from those workouts to make the best decision."

When the May 8th deadline passed for underclassmen to pull out of the draft and return to school, all three players remained steadfast in their desire to play pro ball next year. Whispers on the scouting circuit indicate that the Texas point guard is being targeted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the draft's second round.

Joseph also might have seen the "writing on the wall," as Texas coaches planned to turn point guard duties over to highly regarded recruit, Myck Kabongo, one of the top two freshmen point guards in the country. Kabongo's arrival would have likely forced Joseph to shift to two-guard, a position not suited for his athleticism, resulting in a potential for a "draft stock plummet" in 2012, if he had returned to college.

What the freshman will provide an NBA team is am emerging talent who might not be "ready for prime time" yet, but with his ability to play both guard positions, he could gain valuable minutes coming off the bench. Joseph has proven his abilities in getting to the rim at will and knack for knocking down a couple of jumpers and finishing with some soft floaters in the lane.

The Longhorn also showed that he has quality to offer at point guard. During the 2010-11 season, he did a nice job setting up the offense, making some smart passes and playing low mistake basketball throughout the schedule. What was even more impressive was seeing the freshman consistently give opponents "fits" when asked to apply full court pressure.

Showing excellent lateral quickness and good length, Joseph proved to be a very pesky defender. He led Texas with 37 steals last season, while also pacing the team with a 2.02 assists/turnover ratio, dishing the ball out to teammates for 109 other scoring opportunities. He also finished fourth on the squad with 128 rebounds while averaging 10.42 points per game.

Joseph's relationship with Tristan Thompson date back to their playing days back home in Canada during their time in secondary school. They were the only two Canadians to compete at the McDonald's All-American Game in 2009 and both spent their final prep days together at Findlay School, in Nevada.

Joseph was rated the seventh-best overall prep prospect in the nation by Rivals.com in 2009. The consensus All-American captured the three-point contest at the 2009 McDonald's All-American Game and then led his West squad to victory later in the day.

As a senior at Findlay, Joseph averaged a team-best 18.8 points, 4.9 assists, 6.7 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. He converted 53.9% from the floor (216-of-401), including a 46.9% mark from three-point range (60-of-128), and 79.6% from the free throw line (148-of-186) while leading the squad to a 32-2 record.

Positives: If he can find a way to add bulk without losing his average court speed, he might be a decent fit off the bench as a combo guard … Has that "gunslinger's" type of mentality (shoot first, and when that fails, shoot again), but if given an open lane, he glides through traffic to finish at the rim … When he gets separation from a defender, he can get in a rhythm and shoot a bunch of floaters before mixing it up by delivering soft floaters in the lane (has nice touch and good body control there) … Might take too many chances from the perimeter, but has NBA-caliber three-point range … Better defender vs. smaller guards, as he can press and mirror, but when he has to challenge a bigger shooter, he does not have the power to contain … Lacks great lateral quickness, but will fool a lethargic defender by executing a spin move or reverse lay-up … Ambidextrous type of shooter who can finish with either hand … Has that sudden stop-&-go action to deliver with a quick pull-up shot (can also do that from either his left or right) … Seems more fearless and sure of himself when he has the ball in his hands, as he uses his stop-&-go skills to pull up off the dribble and take his jump shot … Lacks ideal size for a shooting guard, but vertical leap, along with lane agility to compensate … Has an array of moves to the basket, but seems much more comfortable utilizing floaters while in the lane … Efficient outside shooter with a good arch and quick release to fire the ball over a face-up defender … When challenged by the bigger guards, he will utilize his spin moves to slip under and weave through traffic on the way to the rim … Shows the ability to feather the ball in and can finish in transition to score on the lay up … Uses his leaping ability well to go for the rebound (128 last year) or on up-&-under moves around the rim … Has fluid shooting mechanics from the field, doing a good job of creating his own shot and separating himself while keeping the defender off balanced (has the hesitation moves to get the defenders to leave their feet often) … Uses his elevation well to score over the taller opponents … When he gets to the basket, he is capable of executing the finger rolls with either hand.

Negatives: Joseph's shoot-first mentality does not bode well for life as an NBA point guard … More of a combo guard type, but lacks the ideal bulk and strength to defend vs. bigger back court types … Gets out of control with the ball, keeping it on the floor too long looking to create his own shot, only to get rid of it at the last minute to a teammate that might not have a good opportunity to score … Has to develop a tighter handle and be more alert to his surroundings, as he does turn the ball over when he over-dribbles and tries to attack the basket … Not really a great athlete, as he has decent speed, but with his lanky frame and short wingspan (6'4"), along with his average lateral quickness, he might have problems defending vs. quicker guards … Gets too enamored with his own scoring ability, forgetting that he has other outlets he should be feeding the ball off to rather than try to drive hard to the basket … This also leads to questions if he is really the right man to run a team (averaged just 3.0 assists last year) … Never going to give a defense any concern, as more often than not, he will get bounced outside when trying to attack the rim and is not capable of drawing much contact (had just 73 chances from the foul line) … Looks more like a shooting guard trapped in a point man's body, but lacks bulk, length and size to play the "two" position at the NBA level … Decent three-point shooter, but needs to set his feet better on his mid-range jumper and not take so many chances shooting with a man in his face … Has a shooting guard's mentality and just marginal passing skills, lacking the court vision to consistently locate the open teammate (would rather shoot than pass anyway, making him a better off-guard than a point man) … Lacks an explosive first step when penetrating the lane … Can be fooled along the perimeter when the opponent executes good pump fakes or hesitation moves and will generally lose his position (takes a side mostly rather than facing up) … Loves to hoist the ball up, but gets too scoring happy and needs to develop better shot selection (made just 42.2% of his 322 shots last year) … Must do a better job of distributing the ball, as he gets too conscious of taking the shot, leaving his teammates out of the action often … Must play with better control, as he gets frustrated with himself after missing a shot … Will throttle down at times when he doesn't have the ball in his hands (stands around and looks at the action) … There are doubts that he can add much more bulk to his frame without it impacting his already average quickness.

Compares To: JAMAL CRAWFORD, Atlanta -- Joseph is a shooting guard trapped in a point guard's body, but he could be a liability on the point in the NBA due to a "shoot-first" mentality, and poor decision-making on when he has to distribute the ball to his teammates. He might be a better fit coming of the bench, where he generate a scoring spurt for a few stretches and also pester perimeter shooters. He can connect from anywhere on the field, but with his light frame, his quickness could be affected, if he has to bulk up to play the off-guard spot for long stretches.

Starting all 36 games for Texas in 2010-11, Joseph was named to the USBWA Freshman All-American second-team, adding All-Big Twelve Conference honorable mention and Big Twelve All-Rookie Team honors … Led the team in assists (3.0 apg; 109 total), steals (37), three-point field goal percentage (.413, 52-of-126) and minutes played (32.4 mpg; 1,166 total) … Also ranked fourth in rebounding (3.6 rpg; 128 total) and tied for fourth in scoring (10.4 ppg; 375) … Led the team in scoring four times and rebounding in two games.

In 36 games at Texas. Joseph averaged 10.42 points, 3.56 rebounds, 3.03 assists, 0.31 blocked shots and 1.03 steals per game … He shot 42.2% from the field, 41.3% from three-point range and made 69.9% of his free throw attempts in 2010-11.

Joseph spent his junior and senior years at Findlay (Henderson, Nev.) Preparatory School, playing for head coach Michael Peck … Ranked as the seventh-best prospect nationally by Rivals.com and 11th-best in the ESPNU 100 following his senior season … McDonald's All-American and Jordan All-American … First-team All-American by Parade Magazine … As a senior, he averaged a team-best 18.8 points, 4.9 assists, 6.7 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game … Converted 53.9% from the floor (216-of-401), including a 46.9% mark from three-point range (60-of-128), and 79.6% from the free throw line (148-of-186) while leading Findlay to a 32-2 record … Led Findlay to three wins in three days to capture the prestigious ESPN Rise National High School Invitational (NHSI) Championship for the second straight year … Claimed Tournament MVP honors at the NHSI, averaging 20.3 points per game over the three contests … Had a team-high 17 points, four rebounds and three steals in Findlay's 59-46 win over Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) in the tourney championship game … Helped lead Findlay to a 33-0 record and the mythical high school national championship in his junior season, as he averaged 10.5 ppg, 4.9 assists, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game … Converted 55.8% from the floor (125-of-224), including a 50.4% mark from three-point range (58-of-115) … Also posted a 3.13 assist-to-turnover ratio (163 assists, 52 turn-overs) in his junior season … Spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Pickering High School (Pickering, Ontario) and led his team to back-to-back provincial titles.

General Studies major … Older brother, Devoe, is a junior on the basketball team at the University of Minnesota … Son of Connie and David Joseph … Born Cory Ephram Joseph on

8/20/91 in Toronto, Canada.