CHARLOTTE - Dame Sarr may not want to take full credit for Duke landing Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, but he isn’t exactly running from it, either.
The Duke sophomore said Wednesday at ACC Tipoff that he reached out to Boumtje Boumtje during the recruitment, offering the kind of advice that often matters most to a young player weighing his next move. Boumtje Boumtje, a 5-star prospect from Spain, eventually chose the Blue Devils after reclassifying to the class of 2026 at 17.
“I told Coach I called ‘JoJo’ and the next day he committed, so I’m a better recruiter,” Sarr said Wednesday at ACC Tipoff, smiling.
Sarr said the message was simple: think about the people around you, and the program you’re stepping into.
“I told him it’s important to make the decision based on the people you’re going to have around you,” Sarr said. “You want to have people who are going to push you, want to have people who are honest with you. And you always want to have people that have done it before.
“I feel like Duke has done it every single year. So for him, as he has said, it was a no-brainer for him to come here.”
He added with a grin, “I definitely did,” Sarr joked, smiling again. “I’ll claim that one.”
However much influence Sarr actually had, Duke now gets the payoff: a 7-foot-2, 250-pound talent known to teammates and coaches as “JoJo.” Boumtje Boumtje arrives with the size, skill and reputation to fit right into what Jon Scheyer is building.
The Blue Devils’ success in international recruiting is no accident. Duke has already tapped into that lane with Tyrese Proctor out of Australia, and this roster also includes Sarr and 7-footer Maxime Meyer from Canada. Another Australian, point guard Luke Paul, is already committed for the class of 2027, and he said Boumtje Boumtje’s recruitment played a part in his own recent decision.
Boumtje Boumtje will not be eligible for the NBA draft until after the 2027-28 season, the same year Paul is a freshman.
Scheyer said Wednesday that during his transition into the job, he spoke with former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski about reaching into the European and international talent pool. Scheyer’s own background helped shape that comfort level; after his Duke playing career, he spent time with Gran Canaria in the Spanish league and already knew the level of competition in the Spanish liga and the EuroLeague.
“We’ve had good success doing it,” Scheyer said Wednesday of international recruiting. “I don’t know if it’s ever going to be the main source of how we find players, but these guys have been awesome.
“I think they have great maturity, good basketball experience and I think it’s made them more ready for college basketball.”
Boumtje Boumtje’s path has been a global one. He was born in Germany while his father, Ruben Boumtje Boumtje, was playing professionally overseas, then grew up in the United States. The family later moved to Spain when Joaquim was 14 after his father became director of operations for the Africa Basketball League, and that is where he joined the Barcelona program.
Sarr’s own journey has been just as international. The native of Italy, who speaks six languages, arrived at Duke last year expecting to be a one-and-done before considering the NBA. He thought about making the leap after last season, but instead returned for his sophomore year.
His freshman season came with plenty of highs and lows. Duke won the ACC title, rose to No. 1 late in the year and reached the NCAA Elite Eight before losing. Sarr earned a spot on the ACC all-defensive team - “Sometimes, I forget I was on that,” he joked Wednesday - but his offense was uneven.
The 6-foot-8 wing could flash with highlight plays and knock down corner 3’s, but he also had his share of turnovers and mistakes. Over the summer, he focused on becoming stronger, improving his shooting and tightening his ballhandling.
“I was not ready to be a one-and-done. That’s not who I was,” Sarr said. “Coming back as a sophomore, I get to lead this team to a national championship, hopefully.”
Sarr believes Boumtje Boumtje can help in that chase. He pointed to the center’s performance for Team USA at the 2026 FIBA U17 World Cup, where Boumtje Boumtje was named tournament MVP as the Americans won gold in Turkey. Duke views him as a 5-star recruit, and Sarr sees a player with plenty of room to grow once he adjusts to the physical side of college basketball.
“He can be a leader, man,” Sarr said. “I think he has it all.
He still has to adjust to the physicality of the game. But I think we’re going to pull and push him to be great.
Coach is going to push him to be great.
“He had a little struggle coming in his first few days with the physicality. I talk to him a lot.
I tell him it’s normal, that he will adjust. But he’s doing a great job.
He’s super talented, so he wil lbe fine.”
And if Duke keeps mining that Barcelona-to-Durham pipeline, Sarr sounds ready to keep taking calls.
“Hey, now that we have the connection, Coach Scheyer and Barcelona …” he said.
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