How does Dame Sarr fit into Jon Scheyer's Duke? Exploring fits alongside Cameron, Cayden Boozer and more
The Duke Blue Devils secured the commitment of top international prospect Dame Sarr during the week to add to their already promising lineup for the 2025-26 season.
Duke landed the 6-foot-8 Italian-Senegalese wing on Thursday. He will play under the tutelage of fourth-year coach Jon Scheyer, who guided the Cooper Flagg-led team to a Final Four finish last season.
This year, Scheyer will have another batch of high-caliber freshman standouts in Cameron and Cayden Boozer, Sebastian Wilkins and Nikolas Khamenia, plus many returnees looking to redeem themselves and help the program win its sixth national title.
Sarr, who played alongside former Duke star Jabari Parker on FC Barcelona, disclosed that the Durham-based squad was his dream destination for college. He believes playing for the Blue Devils will pave the way for his main objective of playing in the NBA.
"There's no better place to prepare you for that than Duke," Sarr told ESPN on Thursday. "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."
How will Dame Sarr fit into Duke's system in the 2025-26 season?
#1. Dame Sarr is a versatile wing who can replace Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor
Last season, Duke had the luxury of playing wing players Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor together. They even started for most games and had major contributions to the team's Final Four run.
Dame Sarr acknowledged that he'd fill in the role left off by Proctor and Knueppel and could be better than them due to his athleticism and size at 6-foot-8. Sarr proved it last month during the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon. He started for Team World and finished with 17 points, four rebounds and one steal in a 10-point loss to Team USA.
#2. Dame Sarr will take the place of NBA draft prospect Cedric Coward
Sarr committed to Duke despite the possibility of sharing minutes with Washington State star Cedric Coward, who also signed up for Duke in the transfer portal. While keeping his initial commitment to play for the Blue Devils, Coward tried out for the 2025 NBA draft and impressed scouts at the combine.
Ultimately, Coward kept his name in the draft and withdrew his Duke commitment, which will allow Sarr to play more minutes at Duke and acclimate with the system, which is set to be run by Cayden Boozer and possibly Isaiah Evans and Caleb Foster.
#3. Dame Sarr's all-around play could open up space for Cameron Boozer, Nikolas Khamenia and Malique Brown to operate inside
Sarr's potential role at the wing could open up large real estate for Duke bigs to operate. The Blue Devils have Cameron Boozer, Nikolas Khamenia, Malique Brown and Patrick Ngongba II at their disposal this season, and they are expected to dominate in the shaded area.
Sarr isn't a selfish teammate, and his experience in Europe helped him develop his decision-making skills and passing abilities. He could use that experience when he starts to play for Duke in November.