Fitting Nicknames Emerge for Duke's Dame Sarr

In the visiting Duke basketball locker room following Saturday night's 80-50 win over the unranked Stanford Cardinal to cap off the No. 6-ranked Blue Devils' 2-0 California road swing, sophomore wing Isaiah Evans referred to a fellow starter, freshman wing Dame Sarr, as both "The Italian Stallion" and "The Locksmith."

ALSO READ: Blue Devils Deliver Defensive Clinic Versus Stanford

Either one fits. After all, the 19-year-old from Oderza, Italy, undeniably rose to the occasion in limiting the firepower of the Cardinal's premier talent in freshman guard Ebuka Okorie, who had tallied 36 points and nine assists just three nights earlier in Stanford's 95-90 home victory over the No. 14 UNC Tar Heels.

Vibes up after another west-coast dub 😈 pic.twitter.com/pv76N2Mhne
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 18, 2026

"We talked about the fact that whenever [Stanford] has won, [Okorie] was a big reason for it," Sarr explained afterward. "We knew that he's their main player, and we wanted to take him out of the game."

And so, they did, thanks in large part of Sarr's relentless focus on denying Okorie any peaceful free space to operate.

Dame brought the locks pic.twitter.com/KpIeMuSQ7I
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 18, 2026

Grade Dame Sarr's Performance Based on Ebuka Okorie's Stats

Although the 6-foot-8, 190-pound Sarr's own boxscore doesn't turn heads — three points, one rebound, one assist, two blocks in 28 minutes of action — there's no doubt that fourth-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer credits Sarr the most in the Blue Devils holding Okorie, who entered the game averaging 22.9 points, to only nine points and one assist.

"It was a great win and probably the most collective performance we've had on both sides of the ball. We knew it was hard to come out here on the west coast trip and get two wins... Proud of our guys to not just get the win, but grow and get better."
-Coach Scheyer pic.twitter.com/HRAAGYzWEd
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 18, 2026

"We're fortunate to have a big-time defender in Dame Sarr," Scheyer noted during his postgame press conference. "You know, that's the first thing, Dame.

"It wasn't about shutting [Okorie] out; it was just about making him work. And I thought, collectively, we did a great job. We always talk about five guys moving on a string, and I thought we had that tonight. So, Dame on the ball is disruptive, and then just collectively, the job we did...I thought our guys did a great job of bringing the fight to [Okorie], so to speak. But he's a terrific player."

Duke basketball wing Dame Sarr — Jan 17, 2026; Stanford, California, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Dame Sarr (7) dunks against Stanford Cardinal forward AJ Rohosy (4) in the first half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

The Blue Devils (17-1, 6-0 ACC) landed back in Durham early Sunday morning and will now have the entire week to gear up for a home bout against the unranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons (11-7, 2-3 ACC) in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 5:45 p.m. ET Saturday (The CW Network).

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