DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Dame Sarr was playing in Spain’s top professional league in the spring when he plotted a course once forbidden by NCAA rules.
He was going to play college basketball at Duke.
“I always felt like this was my dream school,” the Italian wing said. “And when I got the opportunity to come here, for me it was a no-brainer.”
Now the Blue Devils freshman is part of the influx of international players — many having played professionally, notably in Europe — entering the sport this year. That wave arrives in the first months of the revenue-sharing era, with schools able to directly pay athletes after a judge approved the $2.8 billion House antitrust settlement in July.
That meant the door was ajar for international prospects to come to the U.S. and play more — and make much more money — than developing through, say, the junior ranks of a European club.
“Players get offers 10 times higher than in Europe,” international sports agent Misko Raznatovic said in a recent email to The Associated Press, “so it is a very easy decision … for the players and their families.”
And for college coaches, that’s triggered a gold rush for basketball talent.
“Literally we’re going to be playing against professional players this year,” said Duke’s Jon Scheyer, who added Sarr after losing all five starters from a Final Four team. “So that’s a different thing.
“Again, when you see the rules of eligibility, the way it used to be, that’s out the window. So you might as well look for anybody in Europe and try to get them to come over.”
Wide reach
In a look at 247Sports’ national recruiting classes, 13 schools with top-20 classes brought in at least one prospect from outside the U.S., a list that includes the sixth-ranked Blue Devils, No. 9 Kentucky, No. 13 Arizona, No. 18 Tennessee, No. 19 Kansas and No. 25 North Carolina. That’s more than the previous two years combined (seven in 2024, four in 2023).
“The best players in the NBA are European players now,” said Illinois coach Brad Underwood, whose 17th-ranked Fighting Illini brought in 6-foot-9 forward David Mirkovic from Montenegro and 6-2 guard Mihailo Petrovic from Serbia. “We’re following a trend.”
Sarr, a 6-8 wing, started for Duke and had eight points in Tuesday’s win against Texas. At Arizona, 6-7 forward Ivan Kharchenkov — who first joined Bayern Munich’s senior team in 2022 at age 16 — had 12 points and 10 rebounds as a starter in Monday’s takedown of third-ranked and reigning national champion Florida.
The reach goes beyond schools atop the recruiting leaderboard.
The No. 2 prospect in 247Sports’ international list is Virginia Tech’s Neoklis Advalas, a 6-foot-9 Greek guard who had eight points and nine assists in his debut against Charleston Southern. No. 11 Louisville (6-11 forward Sananda Fru from Germany) and No.