Summer workouts in Durham have a way of separating the hype from the reality. Some guys coast on talent. Others grind their way into the picture. And then there’s Dame Sarr — a freshman guard who’s quickly becoming the name Duke insiders can’t stop bringing up.
Sarr didn’t arrive with the same national spotlight as Cameron and Cayden Boozer, and he wasn’t projected to leapfrog returners like Caleb Foster or Isaiah Evans. But according to multiple sources close to practice, it’s Sarr who’s quietly — and now not-so-quietly — making the most noise. His toughness, communication, and consistency on both ends of the floor are turning heads daily.
“He’s not trying to be flashy — he’s just doing all the things that win practices,” one team source shared. “Deflections, hustle plays, vocal leadership… and he’s knocking down shots at a high clip. You can’t keep him off the floor right now.”
While veterans like Foster are showing leadership and incoming stars like Evans and Kon Knueppel are displaying their offensive tools, Sarr is carving out a different kind of role — the glue guy. The connector. The competitor who doesn’t need the ball to impact the game. One insider said Sarr has “Scheyer’s trust already,” which isn’t a small statement in a backcourt loaded with talent.
Maliq Brown — the senior transfer forward — has also drawn praise for his physicality and maturity. And Caleb Foster’s confidence running the offense has grown in his junior summer. But even with all of that, it’s Dame Sarr who’s thrown the biggest wrench into the staff’s early rotation projections.
What was supposed to be a developmental year is now something else entirely. If practices are any indication, Dame Sarr isn’t just fighting for minutes — he’s earning a voice, a role, and possibly a spot in Duke’s opening-night rotation. For a player “nobody saw coming,” he’s become impossible to miss.
