Austin Rivers likes to make his decisions early.

In 2008, the then-sophomore committed to Florida. In a recruiting landscape that seems to feature younger and younger players each year -- click here to check out the top 50 preschool ballers in the country, complete with soundtrack by Mobb Deep! -- it was a surprising decision. Didn't Rivers want to wait? Didn't he need to take his time?

In the end, the highly touted guard re-opened his commitment, eventually spurning Florida and leaving himself with three choices: Duke, North Carolina and Kansas. Before making those visits, Rivers has, as you now know, made up his mind. It's Duke. No one will ever accuse Doc's son of indecision.

Duke was long considered the front-runner for Rivers' services, and landing the No. 1 player in any class is always a big deal (duh), but the manner with which Rivers finalized his decision has to count as a bonus for Mike Krzyzewski and company. Rivers was apparently so impressed with Duke that he didn't wait to see North Carolina and Kansas. He made up his mind. Once he did, he lost interest in having it changed. And so he called Roy Williams, Bill Self and Coach K, and he let them all know. Just that easy.

The impact of Rivers' decision is twofold. There's Rivers himself, of course, who happens to be the top-rated player in his class. He's a combo guard with limitless skills, a scorer with a feathery touch, a leader, a natural distributor, a prodigy NBA progeny all grown up. In other words, you know, he's the top-rated player in his class.

Perhaps more interesting is what it says about the current state of Duke's program. Remember when the Blue Devils were faltering? Remember when Duke couldn't get past the Sweet 16? Remember when Coach K was spending too much time with the national team? Remember when the Blue Devils weren't deep enough? Remember when Duke couldn't lure top recruits anymore?

Those days -- if they even existed in the first place -- are officially over. The Blue Devils are the reigning national champions. They're the favorite for the this season's crown, thanks in part to one of the best recruits in the 2010 class, Kyrie Irving. And they just signed the best overall player in the class of 2011 and are all the way up to No. 2 in ESPN.com's updated class rankings.

If Duke "went" anywhere, it is officially back. That's a scary thought.