The Duke basketball program wrapped up exhibition play with an 83-76 victory on the road against Tennessee on October 26th. However, with the preseason winding down, the starting small forward battle between 5-star freshmen Nikolas Khamenia and Dame Sarr is continuing to heat up. Throughout the summer, it felt like Sarr was the frontrunner to be the day one starter at the three spot, but through exhibition play, Khamenia could be gaining ground on the Italian wing. Sarr sat out in Duke's first exhibition game against UCF as he dealt with an oblique injury, and solid play from Khamenia could push Blue Devils' head coach Jon Scheyer to start Khamenia when his squad opens up the regular season against Texas.
Starting spot battle between Nik Khamenia and Dame Sarr continuing to heat up as regular season inches closer
It felt like Sarr was in the lead for the starting role, as the 5-star rookie already had professional experience playing for FC Barcelona over the past year. In 15 Euro League games and another 12 games in Liga ACB, Sarr averaged 3.5 points and 1.1 rebounds on 53.7% shooting from the field and 44.8% shooting from three-point range. Sarr and Khamenia are similar archetypes, great shooters with amazing defensive instincts. At this point, Khamenia is likely further along in terms of shooting, while Sarr is further along defensively, so it will be intriguing to monitor how Scheyer handles the situation.
With Sarr sitting out against UCF, it gave Khamenia the chance to move ahead in the race to start. Against UCF, Khamenia went for 14 points and eight rebounds on 2-of-8 (25%) shooting from the field. The 6'8" wing followed up that performance with seven points and three rebounds on 2-of-9 (22.2%) shooting from the field.
Sarr saw his first action in a Blue Devil uniform against the Volunteers, tallying five points and two assists on 2-of-6 (33.3%) shooting from the floor.
Through the team's scrimmage at Countdown to Craziness, Sarr clearly looked sped up by the college game and uncomfortable with the ball in his hands at times. Additionally, at 6'8" and just 190 pounds, it's obvious he'll need to put on a little weight as he looks to attack inside and be physical.
As of now, the race between Khamenia and Sarr looks neck and neck, and Scheyer has under two weeks to determine which of the two prized recruits will start on day one.