FanHouse Dexter Pittman

Texas swingman Damion James made what seemed to be a difficult decision this past June when he walked away from NBA riches to return to school.

James apparently impressed many as he went through NBA workouts this past spring. But when it came time to be all in, James made the decision to return to the Longhorns for his senior season. James said the choice wasn't hard to make.

"It was cool," James said to FanHouse. "We have a great team, probably the best team in the country and I've come back to lead them. It really wasn't a tough decision at all. It was a great decision."

The debate about which conference is the best basketball league usually heats up in December.

But the Big 12 coaches set fire to the debate early by staking claim as the best basketball conference Tuesday, some five months before the 2009-10 season begins. So the Big East, ACC, Pac-10 and SEC will have to just lineup for second best.

"I do think it's going to be the best with what we have retuning and the things that we've done in the last few years," Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon said during the Big 12 summer teleconference call Tuesday. "I've talked to some so-called experts out there and they think we are going to be the best league, too.

This time it ended in a smile. And a grin. And a basketball held aloft like it was the Stanley Cup. And an ending that seemed awfully familiar.

Duke is back in the Sweet 16. Finally. Again.

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Pitt has been ranked No. 4 or better in all but one week this year. Despite that, the story all season has been that Pitt has never won more than two games in the NCAA Tournament.

Duke has been hanging around the top 10 all season. The Blue Devils had a slide in the middle of conference play, but tweaking the lineup seems to have worked (except when facing North Carolina) in sparking them to yet another ACC Tournament Championship.

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