Olivier Sarr

Olivier Sarr (born 20 February 1999) is a French college basketball player for the Kentucky Wildcats of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He previously played for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Olivier Sarr
Sarr with Wake Forest in November 2017
No. 30 – Kentucky Wildcats
PositionCenter
LeagueSoutheastern Conference
Personal information
Born (1999-02-20) 20 February 1999
Niort, France
NationalityFrench
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight237 lb (108 kg)
Career information
College
Career highlights and awards

Early life and career

Sarr started playing basketball at age three with his father, a former player, and drew inspiration from Hakeem Olajuwon.[1] He played for club teams Bouscat and TOAC before joining INSEP, a sports institute in Paris.[2] He competed for Centre Fédéral in the Nationale Masculine 1 and represented INSEP at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament.[3][4] Sarr moved to the United States when he was 15 years old.[5] He was considered a four-star recruit by Scout.com and committed to Wake Forest over offers from California, Vanderbilt and UCF.[6]

College career

Sarr averaged 3.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game as a freshman at Wake Forest. He gained 20 pounds going into his sophomore season.[7] As a sophomore, Sarr started 16 games and averaged 6.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, leading the team with 25 blocks.[8] On February 29, 2020, Sarr scored a career-high 37 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a 84–73 victory over Notre Dame.[9] As a junior, Sarr averaged 13.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and had 11 double-doubles. He was named to the Third Team All-ACC. After coach Danny Manning was fired, Sarr entered the transfer portal. In May 2020, he announced he was transferring to Kentucky after receiving interest from Duke, Baylor, Florida State and Gonzaga. Sarr applied for a waiver for immediate eligibility at Kentucky.[10] He, along with fellow transfer Jacob Toppin, received immediate eligibility on October 21, 2020.[11]

National team career

Sarr played for France at the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Zaragoza, Spain. He averaged 4.4 points and four rebounds per game and helped his team finish in sixth place. At the 2017 FIBA U18 European Championship in Slovakia, Sarr averaged 7.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for the sixth-place team.[2]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Wake Forest 30015.1.348.250.6003.0.4.3.73.2
2018–19 Wake Forest 251621.7.472.250.7055.5.5.41.06.2
2019–20 Wake Forest 301526.7.527.143.7619.0.9.41.213.7
Career 853121.1.479.234.7245.8.6.41.07.8

Personal life

Sarr is the son of Massar and Marie Sarr and has a younger brother, Alexandre.[2] He is of Senegalese descent.[12] Sarr's father played professional basketball in France, and Alexandre plays for Real Madrid at the youth level.[1]

References
  1. "Eurohopes interviews Olivier Sarr". Eurohopes. 29 March 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  2. "Olivier Sarr". Wake Forest University Athletics. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  3. Le Pape, Etienne (6 May 2020). "Direction Kentucky pour Olivier Sarr" (in French). BeBasket. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  4. Geisinger, Brian (14 June 2018). "Better Know a Player: Is Wake Forest's Olivier Sarr the ACC's next stretch-5?". Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  5. Lima, Rafael. "Spotlight: Olivier Sarr". Old Gold & Black. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  6. Engel, Charlie. "Has Wake Forest landed a new French Superstar?". Old Gold & Black. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  7. Harmon, Dowell (December 6, 2019). "Olivier Sarr becoming a threat for Wake Forest Basketball". 247 Sports. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  8. "Ex-Wake Forest Center Olivier Sarr Transferring To Kentucky". WUKY. May 6, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  9. "Sarr, Wake Forest deal blow to Irish NCAA hopes". ESPN. Associated Press. February 29, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  10. Borzello, Jeff; Givony, Jonathan (May 6, 2020). "Olivier Sarr to transfer to Kentucky from Wake Forest". ESPN. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  11. Borzello, Jeff (October 21, 2020). "Olivier Sarr, Jacob Toppin eligible for Kentucky Wildcats after NCAA transfer waivers". ESPN. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  12. "NCAA: Olivier Sarr quitte Wake Forest pour rejoindre Kentucky !" (in French). News Basket BeAfrika. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
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