Our weekly smorgasbord of West Virginia University sports notes makes its 2018 return!
 
Right out of the gate, it appears this year's Big 12 men's basketball race is playing out like a lot of us expected it might.
 
Everyone is once again beating each other with the exception of Kansas. The Jayhawks (5-1) have now won four straight Big 12 games after dropping their conference home opener to Texas Tech back on Wednesday, Jan. 10.
 
Since then, KU has reeled off victories at TCU, at home against Iowa State and Kansas State, and, most recently, at West Virginia on Monday night after falling behind by 16 late in the first half.
 
I've watched the Jayhawks play a handful of times and Monday night was the hardest I've seen them play, by far, this year. Veteran coach Bill Self recently questioned his team's toughness, but they were certainly up to the challenge against West Virginia on its home floor.
 
"Of all the teams we brought in here, you would think that some of those teams would be quite a bit tougher than this team," Self said, when asked about his team snapping its four-game losing streak in Morgantown. "And this is probably as good of a team as West Virginia has had … they've had so many good ones, but they were ranked second in the country and now they're sixth."
 
Since Saturday, when Kansas held on to defeat Kansas State by one, Oklahoma outlasted TCU by five in overtime, Texas Tech clipped West Virginia by one, Iowa State defeated Baylor by 10 and Oklahoma State nipped Texas by one in Stillwater, it's been a rollercoaster ride for the rest of the league.
 
Baylor came back to beat Oklahoma State by 23 in Waco, Kansas State rebounded from its disappointing loss at Kansas to rout Oklahoma, Texas stunned Texas Tech by nine in Austin and TCU pounded Iowa State in Fort Worth.
 
What we've got right now heading into the fourth weekend of conference action are eight teams within two losses of each other, Iowa State at the bottom with five losses and Kansas all alone at the top with just one defeat.
 
Up next for Kansas is Baylor at Allen Fieldhouse, followed by road games at Oklahoma and Kansas State with the Big 12/SEC Challenge game against Texas A&M sandwiched in between.
 
The way Kansas is playing right now, somebody better get these guys soon or else the Jayhawks might already be well down the path toward their 14^th straight conference title.
   
Self drew a big laugh out of West Virginia coach Bob Huggins during their pregame handshake when he came out wearing a black Kansas pullover with a 'Little General' logo on the sleeve, similar to the ones Huggins wears during games (pictured above via WDTV sports director Joe Bracato's Twitter account).
 
Self revealed on his radio show earlier this week that the pullover was actually a gift from a Mountaineer fan (WVU supporter and Little General co-owner and president Greg Darby), and although it wasn't visible, the pullover also had 'West Virginia basketball' inscribed on the other sleeve.
 
"I actually wore a West Virginia basketball deal for that game," Self told his audience.
 
This all came about last spring while the two were at Dick Vitale's gala in Sarasota, Florida, to raise funds for pediatric cancer research. Self told Huggins he wished he could be as comfortable as Huggins looked during games wearing those over-sized pullovers.
 
Huggins said he would make that happen the next time Self came to Morgantown.
 
Someone asked Self if he was going to return the favor and provide Huggins with a suit and a tie for the rematch at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday, Feb. 17, to which he replied, "No. First of all, he didn't pay for my windbreaker and if he did, it cost $12.50, so it'd be a lot more expensive for me to provide a suit for him.
 
"That's out!"
 
Many, many years ago, Pitt's H.C. "Doc" Carlson used to pull similar stunts when he coached at the old Field House. After once having a beverage dumped on his head by a Mountaineer fan, Carlson showed up in Morgantown the following year with an umbrella.
 
Another time, he began the game by wearing a gas mask. Naturally, the fans loved it!
 
A pullover-wearing Bill Self might be moving in old Doc Carlson's direction in the eyes of Mountaineer Nation.
   
Hard-luck TCU, which has lost four of its first five Big 12 games by a combined 11 points, probably lost its starting point guard Jaylen Fisher for the season. Fisher injured his right knee during practice Tuesday and showed up for Wednesday's game against Iowa State using crutches. It is the second time he has hurt a knee in practice.
 
TCU had little trouble with Iowa State though, defeating the Cyclones, 96-73, and playing the point in place of Fisher was Alex Robinson, who handed out 17 assists with just one turnover.
 
West Virginia is at TCU coming up on Monday night in Fort Worth for another Big Monday game.
   
Which Texas team will West Virginia see on Saturday afternoon in Morgantown? The one that took Duke, Gonzaga and Michigan down to the wire and beat Alabama, TCU and Texas Tech, or the one that defeated Tennessee State by one, lost to Baylor by nine and was upset at Oklahoma State?
   
Ben Kercheval of CBS Sports.com has two West Virginia University football players on his list of the top 25 returning college football players for 2018.
 
Kercheval has senior wide receiver David Sills V No. 22 among his returners and senior quarterback Will Grier No. 6.
 
Of course, Ben is well-versed in Mountaineer football as the son of West Virginia Metro News Talkline host Hoppy Kercheval.
 
You can read Ben's full list here: https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/2018-college-football-season-the-top-25-players-who-will-be-back-next-year/
   
A quick check of West Virginia's 2017 NCAA football ranking summary delivered to me by hard-working director of football communications Mike Montoro showed an inordinate number of red-number statistical categories for the 7-6 Mountaineers.
 
I consider a red number to be any category where a team is ranked 100 or lower, and this year WVU had 12 of these – third-down conversion percentage (111), fourth-down conversion percentage defense (125), fewest penalty yards (101), fumbles lost (106), net punting (104), punt return defense (106), punt returns (110), rushing defense (103), time of possession (116), total defense (106), turnover margin (105) and turnovers lost (115).
 
That's quite a bit!
 
By comparison, the 2016 team had just three red-number categories - passing yards allowed (104), punt returns (124) and fewest penalty yards per game (105).
 
There is certainly a lot of work to be done when spring practice gets underway in March.
   
Here is a quick record book update following the 2017 football season. Several returning players will be moving up the career rankings as the season moves along.
 
Here are the main ones to watch:
 
Will Grier
No. 9 in career touchdown passes, 34
No. 15 in career passing yardage, 3,490
No. 15 in career completions, 250
No. 19 in career pass attempts, 388
 
David Sills V
No. 5 in career touchdown catches, 20
No. 22 in career touchdowns scored, 20
No. 35 in career receiving yardage, 1,111
No. 37 in career scoring, 124
 
Gary Jennings Jr.
No. 15 in career receptions, 114
No. 23 in career receiving yardage, 1,377
 
Kennedy McKoy
No. 59 in career rushing yards, 1,068
   
We recently received the sad news that former Mountaineer gridder Jim Sypult died suddenly while vacationing in Peru. Sypult, a Fairmont native, played for coaches Gene Corum and Jim Carlen during his three-year varsity tenure at West Virginia. He was team captain his senior season in 1966, Carlen's first at WVU.
 
Sypult was the head coach at Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina, from 1992 until 2010.
 
Sypult's college coaching career also included stops at Davidson (1979-91), Middle Tennessee State (1974-78) and Fairmont State (1973). 
   
Count me among those uncomfortable with sports promoters who attempt to compare their sports' accomplishments to other sports. It may help them gain a little publicity, but it's not apples to apples.
   
And finally, while waiting to talk to West Virginia University women's coach Mike Carey the other day, I noticed an unfamiliar player making shot after shot from well beyond the 3-point arc.
 
At one point, I counted at least 15 in a row she made in rapid-fire, succession. I asked someone sitting near me who that was.
 
"Kysre Gondrezick," was the answer.
 
Kysre Gondrezick is West Virginia's 5-9 guard transfer from Michigan who will be available at the start of next season. She averaged 40.5 points per game playing for her mother, Lisa Harvey, at Benton Harbor High in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
 
Gondrezick was Michigan's Miss Basketball and was also a Parade All-American before attending the University of Michigan last year where she averaged nearly 15 points per game to earn second team All-Big Ten honors.
 
Her mother played on a national championship team at Louisiana Tech and her father, Grant, played at Pepperdine and in the NBA.
 
When I mentioned Gondrezick to Carey his eyes immediately lit up.
 
"She's going to be really good," he admitted.
 
Shooting alongside Gondrezick that afternoon was 5-9 guard Lucky Rudd, a recent transfer from North Carolina State.
 
Rudd appeared in 20 games during her freshman season and played in 15 with the Wolfpack this year before choosing to transfer at the end of the semester. Like current Ohio State transfer Theresa Ekhelar, Rudd will be available at mid-year next season.
 
Rudd was a four-star prospect and the No. 78-rated player in the country coming out of Forest Trail Academy in Wellington, Florida. Like Gondrezick, Rudd comes from a basketball family as her father is former Wake Forest standout Delaney Rudd.
 
"We saw her in high school and we saw her in AAU and she ended up going to North Carolina State," Carey said. "She comes from a great family. Her dad played professionally and coaches in North Carolina. She knows the game. We need more people in here who know the game. We've got to get her accustomed to our speed."
 
Carey also liked something else about Rudd - her nickname. "Lord knows we need a little luck," he laughed.
 
Don't forget, injured guard Tynice Martin is going to be back at some point, although with the season nearing February it might not be until 2018-19.
 
Those three should give Carey a lot of offensive firepower that this year's team is lacking.
 
Enjoy the rest of your week and have a great weekend!