Kentucky may not be one-and-done with international prospects with the addition of Croatian forward Andrija Jelavic — a few other options are on the table for Mark Pope to close out the roster, too. 6-6 shooting guard Harun Zrno from KK Slavija (Sarajevo) has heard from Kentucky with associate coach Mark Fox in contact with the Indiana decommit’s representation, sources tell Jacob Polacheck of KSR+.
There is another name, though, with real lottery potential in the NBA Draft that the Wildcats are reportedly exploring.
NBA Draft analyst Krysten Peek says she spoke with Italian wing Dame Sarr, a draft-eligible prospect also considering college playing for FC Barcelona, at the Nike Hoop Summit last week. There, the 6-8 guard with a 7-0 wingspan said he’s heard from Kentucky — among other schools.
“I asked him, said, ‘What are your plans? Are you going to try to enter this year’s draft class or will you go back to Europe?’” Peek said in the latest edition of Locked On NBA Big Board. “There have been some schools that have entered with his name — Illinois, Kentucky, BYU. … I think he should go to college.”
Illinois has been seen as the rumored favorite for months, potentially following former Barcelona teammate Kasparas Jakucionis’ lead in Brad Underwood’s international pipeline of top draft selections. On3’s Joe Tipton went as far as submitting an RPM pick in favor of the Fighting Illini back in early March, but has since called that prediction “cloudy” as confidence has waned a bit in Champaign and other college interest has ramped up with Oregon, USC and Miami among other names tossed around.
One note of interest: Mark Pope was in attendance at the Nike Hoop Summit on April 12, watching future Wildcats Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno take the floor. He was there for the Kentucky signees, but he also got his eyes on Sarr dropping 17 points on 5-9 shooting with four rebounds and a steal in 25 minutes — plus five-star wing Nate Ament, if we’re including all potential options in 2025-26. While we don’t know the level of interest or communication at this stage, we do know the UK head coach isn’t going into this blind. He’s seen him perform at his best on the world stage.
Sarr averaged 5.8 points and 1.7 rebounds on 52.1 percent shooting and 42.9 percent from three in 12.8 minutes per contest playing for Barcelona in Liga ACB — among the world’s best competition outside of the NBA. Playing for U18 FC Barcelona in 2023-24, for comparison’s sake, he averaged 18.3 points, 5.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 23.2 minutes per game.
Seen as one of the top rising international prospects in the world, he’s in the draft conversation this cycle — and he’s eligible with his contract set to expire this summer while also turning 19 in June, currently on the late-first/early-second line. Should he turn down the draft this go-round, it’d be to go to college as a potential lottery pick in 2026.
It’d come at a serious cost in terms of NIL resources and there is steep competition, but it’s certainly interesting the Cats have poked around there.
Let his tape do the talking here.
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