Dame Sarr doesn’t spend much time thinking about the hardware attached to his name, even after a freshman season that put him on the ACC All-Defensive Team and made him a finalist for the Lefty Driesell Award.
That much was clear at last week’s ACC Tipoff in Charlotte, where Duke Blue Devils On SI pressed the 20-year-old about the recognition he earned last season. Sarr’s answer barely left any room for trophy talk.
"Actually, I never really thought about [individual awards]," Sarr told Duke Blue Devils On SI during his off-stage availability time with the media at the event. "Sometimes, I even forget that I was All-ACC Defensive Team last year.
"It's not something I focus on. And I don't think these accolades tell anything about who I am as a player. As long as my teammates and coaches can trust me in getting stops and helping them, that's all I really care about."
Still, Sarr heads into his sophomore year as one of the early names to watch for ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Duke has already had plenty of success in that lane this decade, with Tre Jones winning the award in 2020, Mark Williams taking it in 2022, and Maliq Brown earning it last season.
The Blue Devils have also seen encouraging signs from Sarr’s offensive game during the offseason. Jon Scheyer pointed to the work behind the scenes, and Sarr backed that up in Duke’s 102-62 home scrimmage win over Belmont on Thursday night.
Sarr tied freshman big man Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje for the team high with 19 points, going 4-for-7 from the field, 2-for-3 from 3-point range, and 9-for-10 at the foul line. Scheyer said afterward that the improvement has been obvious.
"He's been working hard on [his offense] this summer, and the coaches have really helped him," Scheyer noted during his press conference on Thursday night after Sarr shot 4-for-7 from the field, 2-for-3 from 3-point land, and 9-for-10 at the foul line en route to tying Blue Devil freshman big man Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje with a game-high 19 points in Duke's 102-62 home scrimmage win over Belmont.
"Just playing through contact, I did feel like that was the next step that he could take. And that was great to see.
But I'm not surprised either because I've seen him practice. He's really been working hard on it."
The 6-8 Italian wing looked far more assertive against Belmont, finishing with 19 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two made 3-pointers while repeatedly forcing the issue and creating free throws for himself.
Last season, Sarr averaged 6.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.0 steals in 23.5 minutes per game while shooting 40.4 percent from the field, 32.3 percent from deep, and 53.2 percent at the line.
Duke now turns to its second of three preseason tune-ups, a Tuesday, Oct. 20 exhibition against Tennessee in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 7 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
In Other News...
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North Carolina is waiting next, and the rivalry setting only sharpens the pressure on Manny Diaz and his team. The Tar Heels just survived a close one against Pittsburgh, a game in which Pitt was missing its starting quarterback, and Duke will be expected to answer with a better showing at home if it wants to steady itself and stay in the conference conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Duke's Early Hype Faces A Real Defensive Test Against Tennessee
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Tennessee arrives with a roster rebuilt through the transfer portal and the kind of offensive ceiling that can expose gaps before the games start counting. For Duke, the matchup is less about the final score than the stress test it provides, especially for a defense that looked sharp in the first scrimmage but has not yet seen a challenge with this much size, skill and firepower. [Read more 🡒]