Duke basketball continues to land the top recruits — from near and far.
Dame Sarr, a 6-6 shooting guard from Italy who played last season with FC Barcelona in the EuroLeague and is rated the No. 17 player in the 2025 recruiting class, told ESPN on Thursday he will play college basketball for the Blue Devils.
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“Duke was my dream school,” Sarr told ESPN. “I watched a lot of NCAA games this season, especially Duke. I played with Jabari Parker this season, who went to Duke. When I had the chance to go there, I had to take it.”
Kansas had been considered the leader for Sarr, but with Washington State transfer Cedric Coward looking more likely to stay in the NBA Draft, the Blue Devils were stronger in pursuit of Sarr.
Duke also has 6-5 junior guard Caleb Foster, 6-6 sophomore wing Isaiah Evans and 6-5 guard Darren Harris returning on the perimeter.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer responds to fans with the Bull City hand gesture during Duke’s practice at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Friday, April 4, 2025.
“My ultimate goal is to play in the NBA,“ Sarr told ESPN. “There’s no better place to prepare you for that than Duke. For me to be as NBA-ready as possible, and become the best version of myself, I needed to have both experiences — playing for a pro team like Barcelona, and playing in a different type of professional environment like Duke against other players my age. Opportunity, minutes, repetition — this route is the best next step for me at this time.”
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Sarr joins Duke as Scheyer rebuilds his roster, including the starting five from last season’s team that won the ACC championship and made the Final Four while going 35-4. Three freshmen from that team — national player of the year Cooper Flagg along with 6-6 guard Kon Knueppel and 7-2 center Khaman Maluach — are projected as top 10 picks in next month’s NBA Draft.
Along with Foster, Evans and Harris, Duke also returns 6-11 center Patrick Ngongba for his sophomore season.
The incoming freshman class includes 6-9 forward Cam Boozer, his 6-4 twin brother Cayden Boozer and 6-11 forward Nik Khamenia.
Coward committed to Duke as a projected starter for next season while also staying in the NBA Draft. He has until May 28 at 11:59 p.m. to withdraw from the draft and play for Duke next season. But, his play at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago earlier this month impressed scouts enough that he’s expected to be a first round pick. So the expectation is he’ll turn pro and never play for the Blue Devils.