Battle for Duke's final starting spot between prized freshman and key returner

The Duke basketball team has a major collection of talent heading into the season and it’s now up to Jon Scheyer on how to best divide that talent into starters and reserves.

It seems set that four of the starters will be Caleb Foster, Isaiah Evans, Cameron Boozer, and Patrick Ngongba with one spot still up for grabs that will be determined throughout the rest of the preseason.

Several names are under consideration like Cayden Boozer, but the battle could come down to Dame Sarr or Darren Harris.

College basketball insider Jon Rothstein provided insight on who could be the fifth starter for the Blue Devils after watching them practice earlier this week.

“After watching Duke practice today in Durham, the player that I walk away from practice from being most impressed with is talented freshman Dame Sarr,” he explained on social media.

“Cam Boozer was a known commodity. Caleb Foster and Isaiah Evans were known commodities, and they look the part in the backcourt, but the talent of Sarr right now looks like the projected favorite to potentially start for the Blue Devils at small forward.”

In Sarr’s preseason debut in front of the Cameron Crazies, he had a modest two points during the 12-minute scrimmage but showed his potential through his skill and athleticism.

Harris had eight points and flashed a much-improved shooting stroke from the outside.

“Sarr was absolutely sensational over the last 45 minutes of practice today. His defense created offense, and he also comfortably made open 3’s in the corner,” Rothstein added.

Even if Dame Sarr gets the starting nod ahead of Darren Harris, it’s a great sign for Duke that Harris has improved so much over an offseason that he went from a forgotten player as a freshman to a potential starter on a consensus Top 15 team as a sophomore.

A scoring boost off the bench with limitless range could be the perfect role for Darren Harris to make his impact felt on the Blue Devils.