MAILBAG MONDAY: FINAL FOUR or Bust? Duke Basketball CHASES Glory, John Blackwell UNDER PRESSURE?

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
This is the Locked On Podcast Network, celebrating 10 years of your team every day.

**JJ Jackson** (0:11)
Who would you pick as the top three scorers for Duke basketball going into the new season? What about who's under the most pressure? We've got great questions to answer on this Mailbag Monday of Locked On Blue Devils.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:30)
You are Locked On Blue Devils, your daily podcast on the Duke Blue Devils, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

**JJ Jackson** (0:41)
Hello, everybody. Welcome into another episode of the Locked On Blue Devils podcast. My name is JJ Jackson. So great to have you here with us today on Monday, July 27th, 2026 Locked On Blue Devils is your one-stop shop where we discuss everything going on inside the life of Duke Athletics. And here we are on today's show, the last week of July. And we've got a Mailbag Monday for you here. We're talking Duke basketball, some Duke football questions sprinkled in with our good pal, Kevin Connelly from Baldurum. Excited to have this conversation with you guys here on today's show. So without further ado, excited to bring Kevin on into the program. It is great to see you, my friend. Hope everything's going well in your world, Kevin. How are you?

**Kevin Connelly** (1:22)
I'm good, JJ. Thanks for having me.

**JJ Jackson** (1:24)
That's great to hear, man. Excited to chat with you. Can you believe it? Here we are. The final week of July.
Had talking season at media days the last few weeks, and now the final week of July is here. Fall sports, man. Almost around the corner.

**Kevin Connelly** (1:40)
Yeah, man. It's coming fast and furious. It's been a good and fun summer, but before you know it, we'll be talking about some real live games.

**JJ Jackson** (1:48)
No doubt. And I'm excited to see those real live games, to see how Duke follows up on what was an overall really successful athletics year. We'll talk about that throughout the duration of today's show, but let's get right to it, man. We've got several questions, again, questions taken via email, lockedonbluedevils.gmail.com or on x at L O underscore blue devils. Had a couple in our YouTube comments too. So first question comes in, what would make the 2026-27 Duke basketball season a success? Pretty straightforward. I love where we're starting. Right off the top. And I think when I think about success and where this roster is at, I got to get back to the final four, Kevin. I've got to see this team playing in Detroit in the final weekend, all the talent, all the success that they've had in recent years, getting to at least the elite eight, making it to the final four two seasons ago. You got to get back, man. I want obviously to win the national championship and this team is in a very good position to do that. It's difficult to win those six games come March, but this is a team to be successful. You got to get back to being one of the last four standing.

**Kevin Connelly** (2:57)
Yeah, I think that's an easy place to start, right? That's going to be a success for just about any team in the country if you make a final four. You're going to chalk that season up as a success, no matter if you win the national championship or if you get stumbled in either the national semifinal or the title game.
I'll add on to it just because this could be the most talented roster Jon Scheyer has had in his time as a head coach. That's saying a lot considering what his teams have done so far in his head coaching career. But you add in, be a top consensus, top 10 team for the entire season. You want to throw in ACC championship, whether it be the regular season or the tournament title, you're at the top of the ACC for the entire year, and like you mentioned, getting to a final four.
So we know what the NCAA tournament can bring and the uncertainty in the NCAA tournament. And it's, like you said, it's not easy winning those six games or even winning four games to get to the final four. But yeah, I certainly think a final four, you have to chalk that season up as a success, but add in the other things to prove that you had a really good regular season and that you were one of the best teams in the country. Being a consensus top 10 team will pretty much do that in all facets.

**JJ Jackson** (4:12)
No doubt. I mean, the fact that again, this roster is just so loaded, they're going to be able to rely on some veterans that have been a part of March Madness success. And then the uber talented freshmen that Duke's got in the fold. Coach Scheyer is going to continue to get better game after game and we'll have some more thoughts on him a little bit later in the program. But I think this is a team where you think about success, you think about the final four. That's where we started at. Let us know in the comments down below, what you think about that one. All right, what about this next question? Which Duke basketball player do you feel is under the most pressure in 26-27? Do you start with the seniors? Do you go straight to Caleb Foster? That's where my brain's instantly going here, Kevin.