Dame Sarr doesn’t claim to be the guy who convinced Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje to play basketball at Duke.
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Wait a sec … maybe he does.
Seems that Duke coach Jon Scheyer was recruiting Boumtje Boumtje out of Spain, out of the FC Barcelona program. Sarr, a freshman at Duke last season, had come from the same program, and there also was that connection.
Boumtje Boumtje was able to reclassify to the class of 2026 at 17 years old and had a lot of schools after him. Duke won out.
“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.
What did he tell Boumtje Boumtje?
“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.”
In that sense, maybe Sarr was the closer in the recruitment, sealing the deal.
“I definitely did,” Sarr joked, smiling again. “I’ll claim that one.”
Whatever the pitch, and these days there’s also the NIL consideration, Boumtje Boumtje will be at Duke this season. The guy called “JoJo” by teammates and coaches will give Scheyer and the Blue Devils a 7-foot-2, 250-pound player with an abundance of basketball skills.
Recruiting the European and international leagues has become a staple of college basketball and doesn’t figure to change. Duke recruited Tyrese Proctor out of Australia a few years ago, and Jack White, a former team captain, also was Australia.
Looking at this year’s Duke roster, there’s Sarr and Boumtje Boumtje, plus 7-footer Maxime Meyer from Canada. Already committed for the class of 2027 is point guard Luke Paul, another Aussie, who credits Boumtje Boumtje’s recruitment with being a factor in his recent decision.
Boumtje Boumtje is 17 and will not be eligible for the NBA draft until after the 2027-28 season, the year Paul is a freshman.
Scheyer said he talked with former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski during Scheyer’s transition to head coach about tapping into the European and international talent pool.
After playing at Duke, Scheyer’s stab at pro basketball had included a stop with Gran Canaria in the Spanish league. He already had a feel for the quality of play 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.”
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Boumtje Boumtje was born in Germany when his father, Ruben Boumtje Boumtje, was playing pro ball overseas, but grew up in the U.S. The family moved to Spain when Joaquim was 14, after his father was named director of operations for the Africa Basketball League, and Joaquim joined the Barcelona program.
Sarr, a native of Italy who speaks six languages, came to Duke last year believing he would be a “one-and-done” player – a year of college ball, then on to the NBA. He considered making the jump after last season but made the decision to return for a sophomore season.
Sarr said he had “a lot of ups and downs” in his first year for a team that would win the ACC championship, be ranked No. 1 late in the season and reach the NCAA Elite Eight before losing. The 6-foot-8 wing, a quick-twitch, in-your-face kind of player, was named to the ACC all-defensive team – “Sometimes, I forget I was on that,” he joked Wednesday – but was inconsistent offensively.
Capable of making high-flying plays and corner 3’s, he also made some sloppy turnovers and mistakes.
Sarr worked during the summer on being a stronger player, a better shooter and ballhandler. One emphasis, Scheyer said, was on Sarr driving and attacking the basket, and finishing.
“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.”
Boumtje Boumtje can be a big part of that, Sarr said. Playing for Team USA in the 2026 FIBA U17 World Cup, Boumtje Boumtje was named tournament MVP as the U.S. took the gold in Turkey. He was considered a 5-star recruit.
“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.”
Sarr laughed when asked if there was anyone else headed to Duke from the Barcelona or Spanish pipeline.
“Hey, now that we have the connection, Coach Scheyer and Barcelona …” he said.
The Blue Devils will hold a scrimmage against Belmont on Thursday (7 p.m) at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke later has preseason exhibition games against Tennessee (Oct. 20) and Kansas (Oct. 25).
Scheyer said Wednesday that Caleb Foster had been dealing with an ankle injury but is expected to be ready for Duke’s season opener against Army on Nov. 2 at Cameron.
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This story was originally published October 7, 2026 at 2:05 PM.