Derby City Duel: Top Paint Players

Will Harrison June 9, 2022 @ 02:16 PM

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The Derby City Duel took place this past weekend in Louisville, Kentucky and there was a whole crop of young talent that came to make some noise. The game of basketball may be moving more and more towards the three point line, but it isn’t there yet. In this article, we’ll take a look at the top big men who dominated their matchups and made noise on the interior.

1) Donavon Bradshaw | #35 Midwest Basketball Club McGillis 2026

Bradshaw was the first guy this weekend that made me go, “Wow.” In the first matchup, there was a stretch were he blocked 4 shots in about 2 minutes. He has a great instinct for finding the ball on defense whether it’s blocking shots, getting tips, or disrupting passing lanes. He has a long frame and really uses that to his advantage. On offense, he found the open inside spots consistently and always has his defender on the back foot.

2) Drake Sefton | #32 Club 1 Prime 2028

Sefton used his size to dominate on both sides of the ball all weekend long. He has strong hands and a great ability to finish around the rim. He also had a knack for blocking shots and fighting through contact. What is really scary is that he is only going to continue to grow..

3) Josh Huggins | #4 NYBA Elite 2028

Huggins put on one of the most dominant performances of the weekend. He dropped an easy 30 points in the game I watched simply by demanding the ball in the post and scoring on turn-arounds. He was getting and-ones left and right. What was most impressive though was his ability to rebound. He was grabbing every single ball. On offense, if one of his teammates missed, it was basically a pass to Huggins because he got every single offensive rebound.

4) Nolan Rivera | #22 Grind Family Chicago 2026

Rivera did a great job feeding off of guard Andre Tyler, a great playmaker and teammate of his. These guys were a fantastic one-two punch. Rivera captured a ton of rebounds and had so many put-backs and finishes on the block that I couldn’t keep track. He was so strong with the ball every time he had it and he never shied away from contact.

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