DURHAM, N.C. — Dame Sarr was playing in Spain’s top professional league in the spring when he plotted a course once forbidden by NCAA rules.

He was going to play college basketball at Duke.

“I always felt like this was my dream school,” the Italian wing said. “And when I got the opportunity to come here, for me it was a no-brainer.”

Now the Blue Devils freshman is part of the influx of international players — many having played professionally, notably in Europe — entering the sport this year. That wave arrives in the first months of the revenue-sharing era, with schools able to directly pay athletes after a judge approved the $2.8 billion House antitrust settlement in July.

That meant the door was ajar for international prospects to come to the U.S. and play more — and make much more m

See Full Page