Next Cats: See which of the nation's top basketball prospects are coming to Lexington this weekend

The Nike Elite Basketball League will bring several top University of Kentucky recruiting targets to Lexington this weekend, but it won't be the only major grassroots event in the area.

The Adidas and Under Armour circuits will also be within a three-hour drive, and several smaller events are scheduled around the state to capitalize on all of the major college coaches who will be on the road to scout top prospects.

This is the second and final open period of the spring, so those coaches will be out in force before getting a break from off-campus recruiting.

Here's a quick rundown of the top three events of the weekend (all games will be played Friday-Sunday):

Nike EYBL

Where: Kentucky Basketball Academy in Lexington

Who: This year's Nike tour features nearly all of the recruits who have already received UK scholarship offers, as well as several others who the Cats are evaluating.

Canadian shooting guard Jamal Murray will be the player of most immediate interest to UK fans.

Murray is currently in the class of 2016 but is considering a move to 2015, which would allow him to play college basketball next season. If he does reclassify, UK would be one of the schools at the top of his list, if not the favorite.

The 6-foot-5 prospect is expected to compete with the CIA Bounce squad and possibly take an unofficial visit to UK's campus at some point during the week.

Coach John Calipari was focused on three players during the first open recruiting period earlier this month — Harry Giles, Malik Monk and Jayson Tatum — and all three of those guys will be in action this weekend.

Giles, Monk and Tatum are all in the class of 2016, which means they'll be high school seniors next season. All have received early scholarship offers from Calipari. The UK coach has also had in-home visits with those three players and their families in the past week.

Other players with UK offers who are expected to be in Lexington this weekend include Udoka Azubuike, Tyus Battle, M.J. Cage and V.J. King — all from the class of 2016.

Calipari is also recruiting Huntington Prep standout Miles Bridges, who will play for The Family (Mich.) this weekend and could be close to a UK offer.

Four of the five top players in the Scout.com rankings for the class of 2017 are playing on the EYBL circuit: Troy Brown, Michael Porter, Zach Brown and Wendell Carter. UK has already started looking at all four players.

■ (EYBL tickets are $5 for Friday's session, $10 for Saturday's games and $10 for Sunday's games).

Adidas Gauntlet Series

Where: Multiple locations in Indianapolis

Who: The two newest recipients of UK scholarship offers — Josh Langford and Kobi Simmons — play for the Atlanta Celtics, and Wildcats assistant coach John Robic watched both players earlier this month at the Adidas stop in Texas.

Simmons received a scholarship offer last week and is likely UK's No. 1 point guard target in the class of 2016.

Langford — one of the best scorers in the class — hosted Calipari for an in-home visit and picked up an offer Monday night. His father told the Herald-Leader on Wednesday that Langford will likely miss this weekend's games so he can catch up on some schoolwork.

UK has also expressed interest in North Carolina point guard Dennis Smith and New York shooting guard Rawle Alkins, both from the class of 2016.

The Kentucky-based Hoop Dreams team also plays on the Adidas circuit. That squad features in-state standouts Aric Holman, Quentin Goodin and Eli Wright, all from the class of 2016.

Under Armour Association

Where: Mid America Sports Center in Louisville

Who: The Under Armour event isn't as big on star power, but it could feature the No. 1 overall recruits in the country for the next two classes.

Josh Jackson, who has attracted interest from UK, is considered the top player in the class of 2016 by Rivals.com and 247Sports.

DeAndre Ayton is ranked as the top player in 2017 by every major recruiting service, and Scout.com considers him the No. 1 prospect in all of high school basketball.

Also in Lexington

In addition to the Nike EYBL stop, Lexington will host the Racing To The Rim showcase at various high schools around the city starting Friday.

This event will feature class of 2018 standout Marvin Bagley, the national freshman of the year this past high school season. Despite his young age, Scout.com already ranks him as the No. 8 overall player in the country — one spot behind UK signee Skal Labissiere.

More details can be found at racingtotherim.com.

This story was originally published April 22, 2015 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Next Cats: See which of the nation's top basketball prospects are coming to Lexington this weekend."