Top games to watch at this weekend's Nike EYBL event in Louisville

The city of Louisville is expecting a pretty big Memorial Day weekend.

Jefferson County Public High Schools graduate the 2022 class, the Forecastle Music Festival returns to Waterfront Park, and there’s even a Memorial Day Flea Market in town. But what we’re here to talk about is the third session of the Nike EYBL circuit, which comes to the Kentucky Expo Center this weekend. KSR will have boots on the ground throughout the entire event, which begins Saturday morning and continues throughout Monday afternoon.

Plenty of Kentucky’s top targets from the classes of 2023 and 2024 will participate, including much-talked-about guards DJ Wagner and Robert Dillingham, who are both hearing heavily from the ‘Cats. Other major UK targets such as Ron Holland, who recently scheduled an official visit to Lexington, and Matas Buzelis, arguably the most unique player in the ’23 class, will also take the floor in Louisville.

If you need a more in-depth preview of all the recruits with Kentucky connections playing this weekend, you can check that out at the link here. A complete schedule is available here.

In this article, we’re going to dive into the need-to-watch games for the next few days. Tickets for the event are still available if you wish to get a first-hand look at these top talents — you can purchase those at the link here. Tickets will also be available at the door. Here’s a breakdown of which games you’ll need to pay attention to.

*Games written in italics are must-watch contests. All player rankings are courtesy of the On3 Consensus.*

Saturday, May 28

11:00 am | Team Herro vs. Team Durant

Milan Momcilovic (Team Herro) 6-8, 190-pound PF
Unranked
Schools in the mix: Iowa State, Minnesota, Marquette, UCLA, Virginia

Kwame Evans Jr. (Team Durant) 6-10, 190-pound PF
5-star, No. 2 overall; No. 1 PF
Schools in the mix: Oregon, Indiana, Auburn, UCLA, Arizona

• Milan Momcilovic is a new name on the block after a hot start to his summer and will surely earn a consensus national ranking in future updates. He was already bumped to No. 37 overall in 247Sports‘ player rankings update earlier this week. His Team Herro squad isn’t all that talented overall, but that gives Momcilovic more chances to showcase his individual scoring skills. Momcilovic will hopefully draw the matchup against Kwame Evans Jr., who has long been a UK target but has played below expectations in a primary role so far this summer. It’s not often two of the top bigs in the class go head-to-head and it should make for a thrilling matchup if they embrace the matchup.

6:30 pm | Mokan Elite vs. Houston Hoops

John Bol (MOKAN Elite) 7-2, 190-pound C
4-star, No. 15 overall; No. 1 C
Class of 2024

Amier Ali (Houston Hoops) 6-8, 175-pound SF
4-star, No. 24 overall; No. 7 SF
Class of 2024

• Two of the top prospects from the class of 2024, John Bol and Amier Ali, matching up should make for an enlightening contest. Both Bol and Ali have performed well to this point in the summer and are considered among the nation’s top 25 rising juniors. Kentucky has its eyes on the pair. MOKAN Elite also features five-star forward Omaha Biliew and local three-star prospect Gabe Sisk.

7:00 pm | Team Durant vs. Drive Nation

Kwame Evans Jr. (Team Durant) 6-10, 190-pound PF

Ronald Holland (Drive Nation) 6-8, 195-pound PF
5-star, No. 8 overall; No. 3 PF
Schools in the mix: Arkansas, UCLA, Houston, Auburn, Texas, Memphis, G League

8:00 pm | Expressions Elite vs. CP3

Matas Buzelis (Expressions Elite) 6-10, 185-pound SF
5-star, No. 11 overall; No. 3 SF
Schools in the mix: Florida State, Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan

Robert Dillingham (Team CP3) 6-2, 165-pound PG
5-star, No. 4 overall; No. 1 PG
Schools in the mix: Arkansas, Memphis, NC State, USC

• This could be the game of the entire event for Kentucky fans. Matas Buzelis and Robert Dillingham might be two of the coaching staff’s top four preferred prospects to land out of this class. Although they are both ball-dominant players, they are vastly different in how they go about using their skills. Buzelis is a lanky and crafty floor general hidden in the body of a stretch forward. His passing abilities combined with a three-level scoring attack make him one of the more unique prospects to hit the high school scene. Dillingham is a score-first point guard who can get endless buckets through absurd shotmaking. There is no fear in his game when the ball is in his hands. We probably won’t see these two go head-to-head all that often due to the eight-inch height differential, but it should be an exciting matchup between two of the better teams in the EYBL. CP3 is 7-1 through the first two sessions this summer while Expressions Elite is 6-2.

9:00 pm | NJ Scholars vs. Strive For Greatness

Dajuan Wagner Jr. (NJ Scholars) 6-3, 165-pound CG
5-star, No. 1 overall; No. 1 CG
Schools in the mix: Louisville, Memphis, Temple, Michigan

Aaron Bradshaw (NJ Scholars) 7-1, 210-pound C
4-star, No. 20 overall; No. 2 C
Schools in the mix: Louisville, Maryland, Oklahoma State, Michigan, UCLA, G League

Bronny James (Strive For Greatness) 6-3, 190-pound CG
4-star, No. 44 overall; No. 8 CG

Sunday, May 29

12:30 pm | Houston Hoops vs. Drive Nation

Amier Ali (Houston Hoops) 6-8, 175-pound SF
Class of 2024

Ronald Holland (Drive Nation) 6-8, 195-pound PF

6:30 pm | NH Lightning vs. NJ Scholars

Elliot Cadeau (NH Lightning) 6-2, 165-pound PG
4-star, No. 8 overall; No. 1 PG
Class of 2024

Dajuan Wagner Jr. (NJ Scholars) 6-3, 165-pound CG

Aaron Bradshaw (NJ Scholars) 7-1, 210-pound C

• A matchup between Elliot Cadeau and DJ Wagner is one made up of the two top guard prospects in the entire country, regardless of class. Kentucky is showing some early interest in Cadeau, who is an elite 2024 point guard. We already know about Wagner’s talent (along with his serious Louisville connection) and he’s been putting it on full display this summer, but Cadeau will not be an easy challenge. Also, the continued rise of Aaron Bradshaw as a legit top 25 player in his class is something everyone in attendance will be keeping an eye on.

Monday, May 30

11:00 am | CP3 vs. All Ohio Red

Robert Dillingham (Team CP3) 6-2, 165-pound PG

George Washington III (All Ohio Red) 6-2, 165-pound CG
4-star, No. 50 overall; No. 9 CG
Committed to Ohio State, played high school basketball in KY

11:00 am | Meanstreets vs. NJ Scholars

Dajuan Wagner Jr. (NJ Scholars) 6-3, 165-pound CG

Aaron Bradshaw (NJ Scholars) 7-1, 210-pound C