After falling to the Houston Cougars in the 2025 Final Four, Jon Scheyer and the Duke Blue Devils have already made some serious changes.
Duke lost a majority of its key players to the 2025 NBA Draft, including Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, Khaman Maluach and Tyrese Proctor, among others.
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But Scheyer has capitalized yet again with another top recruiting class, bringing in Cameron and Cayden Boozer, the twins of former Duke star Carlos Boozer, and Nikolas Khamenia, all of whom are top 25 prospects (247 Sports).
But Scheyer might not be done adding to his 2025 class. According to On3’s Joe Tipton, the Blue Devils are inching closer to landing Italian guard Dame Sarr.
“Duke is gaining ground with elite Italian prospect Dame Sarr, per sources,” Tipton wrote on X. “The 6-foot-6 shooting guard visited Kansas last week. Ranked as the No. 17 overall recruit in the 2025 class, per On3.”
Sarr, 18, has been playing professionally for Spain’s FC Barcelona since 2022, though his minutes on the court have been limited. In 15 games during the 2024-25 EuroLeague season, he averaged just 1.8 points on 57.9% shooting, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 5.2 minutes per game.
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But Sarr came onto the scene at the 2025 Nike Hoops Summit, inserting his name into 2026 NBA Draft consideration with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer.Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Last week, Sarr partook in his first official college basketball visit with Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks, leading to a Crystal Ball prediction from 247 Sports’ Travis Branham.
“Things sounding very positive with Kansas and Dame Sarr,” Branham wrote.
However, that prediction has since been removed as Duke has inserted itself into the race for Sarr. The Blue Devils and Jayhawks will still have to battle the Oregon Ducks and Illinois Fighting Illini to land the Italian.
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But Sarr could also elect to keep playing for FC Barcelona instead of joining a college program.
