Guess who's back, back again...

All it took was one SCOOP from the SCOOPmaster himself to send the Duke Blue Devils flying to the top of every preseason college basketball poll that will come out in the next seven months.

According to FOXSports.com's Jeff Goodman (who else) and later confirmed in a press release by Duke, Final Four MOP Kyle Singler will be returning to Durham for his senior year.

He's back.
(photo credit: Getty Images)

Without Singler, the Devils were going to be good. They return Nolan Smith -- who is going to be on a lot of all-american teams -- along with both Plumlees and Andre Dawkins, will finally get Liberty transfer Seth Curry onto the court, and add freshmen Kyrie Irving, arguably the best PG in the class of 2010 not named Brandon Knight, and Joshua Hairston to mix as well.

But Singler is such a valuable piece. He is capable of playing all-ACC caliber basketball at the three -- which would allow Duke to play two post players -- or the four -- allowing Coach K to use the trio of Curry, Smith, and Irving together. We all saw the Final Four. You know how good Singler is.

With Singler, it is going to be very difficult to argue that Duke isn't the favorite to win a second straight title. That no doubt played a major part in Singler's decision to return. The last time a team won back-to-back titles was the 1991-1992 Duke teams led by Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, and Grant Hill 2006-2007 Florida teams. Who wouldn't want to be associated with a run like that?

That was likely far from the only factor in his decision, however.

You see, everyone and their brother has been declaring for the draft this season with a possible NBA lockout on the horizon. As a result, there is quite a logjam in the 20-45 range. In other words, there are a lot of guys that, in a normal year, would be fighting for a spot at the end of the first round that will drop to the bottom half of the second round. As we all know, the only way to guarantee yourself a hefty contract by leaving early is to be one of the 30 players taken in the first round.

And while Kyle Singler is projected by most to go somewhere in the late first round, he is far from a lock to get that guaranteed contract.

With the number of players that are currently eligible for this year's NBA Draft, its possible that Singler could shoot up to the late lottery next season.

So Singler will return to school, taking a chance on winning a second straight national title and playing his way into the lottery.

Seems like he may have made the right decision.