Maliq Brown shocks fans when picking which Duke basketball freshman has impressed him the most

Maliq Brown was the latest guest on "The Brotherhood Podcast," and the rising senior Blue Devil big man revealed which freshman has impressed him the most so far this summer. His answer might surprise a lot of people, as it wasn't Cameron Boozer, who many regard as potentially the best freshman coming into college basketball, but instead it was Dame Sarr.

"I would say Dame Sarr," Brown said when Caleb Foster, the podcast's host, asked who has impressed Brown the most this summer. "I mean, his wingspan, he's got some long arms, and he's already what, like, 6'7, 6'6", whatever. And just, the feel he has for the game just being, to score, to get a stop on defense, or, you know, ball screen pass. That's something that's definitely going to help our team."

Sarr was a late addition to this Blue Devil recruiting class, as Jon Scheyer swiped him out of nowhere once it became more clear that former Duke commit Cedric Coward would remain in the 2025 NBA Draft as opposed to play college basketball next season. The Italian guard was heavily favored to land at Kansas, even receiving a crystal ball prediction to Bill Self's program, but Scheyer worked his recruiting magic late and was able to steal Sarr from the Jayhawks, bolstering this season's Blue Devil lineup further with shooting and length.

Listed at 6'7, Sarr is a fantastic outside shooter with already advanced skills defensively. What sets him apart from most other top recruits coming into college hoops in 2025-26 is the fact that he played professionally with FC Barcelona before entering college. Across 15 Euro League games and another 12 in Liga ACB, Sarr shot 53.7% from the field and 44.8% from three-point range.

He's right in the mix for the starting three spot, and it will likely either be Sarr or fellow incoming rookie Nik Khamenia. Khamenia won't be on campus for another few weeks as he is currently playing for the U19 Team USA squad in the U19 FIBA World Cup in Switzerland.

Brown has yet to see all of the incoming Blue Devil rookies in Khamenia's absence, but this take from the Duke big may turn some heads as to how good Sarr really is.