Dame Sarr chose Duke to play on ‘biggest stage’ in college basketball

Dame Sarr, the No. 17 overall ranked player in the 2025 recruiting class, committed to Duke earlier this year on May 22.

The 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Italy had most recently been playing with FC Barcelona, where he averaged 5.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game this season.

Sarr hopped on “The Brotherhood Podcast” with assistant coach Emanuel Dildy last month and discussed his decision to head to college basketball and play at Duke.

“It was always a dream to play in a school like Duke,” Sarr said. “When I saw the guys from last year that went to the Draft and I saw that there was this chance for me. Talking with coach [John] Scheyer and coach [Emanuel Dildy], I had a very clear picture of what they saw in me and the team. I liked that picture and thought it was great. I was playing for Barcelona in the FIBA cup so I wanted to be in a big college. So I think this is the biggest stage and I want to play with and against the best players and win. I think it was a very easy decision. I’m very happy that I made the decision and that’s what I felt in my heart.”

The Oderzo, Italy native joins the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the country. He is surrounded by a talented group, consisting of five-star forward Cameron Boozer, four-star forward Nikolas Khamenia, four-star guard Cayden Boozer and four-star forward Sebastian Wilkins.

“I saw that college basketball is a big opportunity,” Sarr said. “You can play in these big stages and be an important player and improve a lot. For me that was key. And I think that having played overseas and being able to have this experience is also going to help me a lot with college work and professional work. If I combine them it’s going to be great for my career and I’m so excited to start.”

Sarr is just one of a few elite international talents to commit to Duke in recent seasons, joining Khaman Maluach, Tyrese Proctor and RJ Barrett.

“The Brotherhood is a big family,” Sarr continued. “I think everybody wants to succeed in basketball and things other than basketball. I talk to people who have had only good words about this program and I felt really good about it.”

Duke is the No. 3 ranked team in On3’s Way-too-early Top 25 college basketball rankings 7.0.