Northwestern basketball's recruiting weekend will have a definite Detroit vibe.

The Wildcats will welcome three 2021 Rivals150 prospects from the Detroit metro area for their official visits this weekend. All three are also current or former members of The Family, a premiere AAU program based in Michigan that has produced more than 100 college players over the last 20 years.

Head coach Chris Collins and his staff have been zeroed in on several The Family players recently. Their only 2020 commit, three-star big man Matt Nicholson, is also an alumnus and will certainly try to recruit his teammates to join him in Evanston.

Here are thumbnail sketches of each visitor.

Pierre Brooks is a four-star, 6-foot-5 wing from The Family who picked up his offer from Northwestern during an unofficial visit in early August.

The Detroit (Mich.) Frederick Douglass standout has 15 offers, including majors like Alabama, Butler, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas State, Michigan State, Missouri, Northwestern and Xavier. NU represents Brooks' second official visit; he also took one to Missouri in June.

Brooks is a dynamic scorer who averaged about 24 points and 10 rebounds per game for Frederick Douglass last season. He told WildcatReport that his strengths are posting up "little guards" and shooting both off the dribble and catch, and he's also been described as a plus defender and rebounder.

Michigan State figures to be the Wildcats' primary foe in this battle. He is friends with several current or former Spartans, including The Family members Miles Bridges and Cassius Winston.

Jaden Akins is a three-star 6-foot-3 combo guard from The Family who could play the lead guard role for the Wildcats.

Akins is a versatile player who can both run the point and score. He has been described as a player with "good court vision" and a "smooth left-handed release." He has also been praised as an advanced defender.

Akins, who plays high school ball at Farmington (Mich.), has eight reported offers, including Georgia Tech, Iowa, Michigan State, Mississippi State and Missouri.

Like Brooks, Akins has several friends in the Michigan State program and also took an official visit to Missouri back in June.

Julian Roper is a 6-foot-4 wing and former The Family member who now plays for the Indy Heat AAU program.

The standout from Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary's has a double-digit offer list that includes Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin from the Big Ten. The Badgers, who have a commitment from Roper's St. Mary's teammate Lorne Bowman, figure to be a prime combatant for Roper's commitment. He will visit Madison the weekend after he goes to Evanston.

A strong shooter who can also get to the rim, Roper received his offer from Northwestern in August.

All three prospects are similar in size, as well as skills, so it's not known whether Northwestern would take all three. The Wildcats are also after several other highly-ranked 2021 targets, such as Patrick Baldwin Jr. (No. 3 player in the nation), Max Christie (17), Bryce Hopkins (64) and Luke Goode (93).

Northwestern is no stranger to recruiting The Family players. Former Wildcats Davide Curletti and Alex Marcotullio both played for program and were recruited by former coach Bill Carmody. Current NU senior AJ Turner is also an alumnus.