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Duke Basketball Emerges as 'Favorite' to Land Italian Star

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated May 20, 2025 2:37 PM ET

At age 19, Dame Sarr has already cobbled together quite a lengthy basketball journey. Born in Senegal, his family left for Italy when he was young, and by the age of six, he was already excelling for local youth teams in his new country. Eventually, he was noticed by coaches for Barcelona, and he was signed on to become a pro in Spain in 2022.

Sarr has had a rocky path with Barcelona since, though, and spent much of this season on the bench for the senior team, before finally getting a chance late in the year and impressing with his opportunity. He averaged 12.4 points over his final five games in La Liga play, after having scored seven total points in 13 games before that.

After he finished with 17 points in last month's Nike Hoop Summit, Sarr was even getting buzz as a late riser in 2025 NBA draft circles.

But instead, Sarr will go to college, and after initially lined up to go to Illinois, that commitment appeared to flip to Kansas. He visited Durham this week, though, and now it appears Sarr is heading to Duke and head coach Jon Scheyer.

As Jeff Goodman of "Field of 68" wrote on Twitter/X: "Duke has emerged as the favorites to land Dame Sarr, source told @TheFieldOf68 . Sarr is a 6-7 wing from Italy. Blue Devils anticipated Cedric Coward remaining in the draft, and ramped up their efforts to la’d Sarr - who had been a Kansas lean."

Duke has emerged as the favorites to land Dame Sarr, source told @TheFieldOf68.

Sarr is a 6-7 wing from Italy.

Blue Devils anticipated Cedric Coward remaining in the draft, and ramped up their efforts to la’d Sarr - who had been a Kansas lean.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 20, 2025