Sarr would be a major pickup for any college, but the NBA is also a threat.
Jason Marcum has been covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Cincy Jungle since 2014 and the University of Kentucky for A Sea Of Blue since 2015.
With transfer portal options starting to dry up, the Kentucky Wildcats could look to the international ranks for a last-minute addition to the backcourt.
According to NBA Draft analyst and high school hoops reporter Krysten Peek, Kentucky has contacted shooting guard Dame Sarr (no relation to former Wildcats center Olivier Sarr). BYU and Illinois are also in the mix.
“There have been some schools that have entered with his name: Illinois, Kentucky, BYU,” said Peek on a recent episode of Locked on NBA Big Board, later adding she believes Sarr should go to college.
Set to turn just 19 years old in June, Sarr has been playing for FC Barcelona, which is an intriguing storyline in itself. Sarr recently played in the 2025 Nike Hoops Summit after Barcelona had denied his request to do so. It appears likely that he’ll be playing for a new team this fall, which could be a college program, though he’s going to test the NBA Draft process, so this recruitment could take a bit before a final decision is made.
This past season, the 6-foot-8 Sarr averaged 5.8 points on 52.1% shooting (42.9% from deep on 1.8 attempts per game) and 1.7 rebounds across 12.8 minutes per contest in 12 games for Barcelona in the Liga ACB, the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system.
Sarr also played 15 games for Barcelona in the EuroLeague, which is viewed as the top-tier men’s league in Europe. There, he averaged 1.8 points on 57.9% shooting (50% from deep on 0.5 attempts per game) and 0.7 rebounds across 5.2 minutes per game.
In the recent Nike Hoops Summit, Sarr racked up 17 points on 5/9 shooting (1/2 from deep) and four rebounds in 25 minutes of action.
Sarr hails from Italy and represented his country in the 2022 U16 European Championship, the 2023 U18 European Championship, and the 2024 U18 EuroBasket.
Kentucky recently came out of nowhere to land international prospect Andrija Jelavic. Could Sarr be another surprise addition to the 2025-26 roster?
One to watch for.
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