Westbrook averaged 8.2 assists per game last season. He averaged 8.0 assists per game his sophomore season. This year: 5.3.

That’s a major drop. And someone offered me a reason. No Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. The trade for Kendrick Perkins fortified the Thunder immensely, but it did not help anyone’s assists totals.

Green and Krstic were woeful inside defenders, but they could score. Krstic was a catch-and-shoot big man who was very solid in the pick-and-pop. Green could score a myriad of ways.

Suddenly, Westbrook was playing a ton of minutes with Perkins and Serge Ibaka, two wonderful players but whose strengths don’t lie in scoring, especially out of offensive flow. Suddenly, the Thunder starting lineup consisted of two defensive specialists (Perk and Thabo Sefolosha) and another who is getting that tag fast (Ibaka).

So let’s look at the numbers. On Feb. 24, 2011, the day the trade was made, Westbrook was averaging 8.5 assists.

For the next nine games, the Thunder played with Ibaka in the starting lineup but without Perk, who was recovering from a knee injury. Nazr Mohammed got much of the big-man minutes in Krstic’s absence. Nazr is a solid offensive player, nothing special. In those nine games, Westbrook averaged 8.1 assists per game. No big deal.

Then Gran Torino came on board and played down the stretch. In the 17 remaining regular-season games, Westbrook averaged 7.1 assists per game. So it was starting to dwindle.

In the playoffs (17 games), Westbrook averaged 6.4 assists, but keep in mind, playoff numbers typically go down for everyone, as the defense toughens. The year before, in six playoff games against the Lakers, Westbrook averaged 6.0 assists per game, after averaging 8.0 during the regular season.

And now we get to 2011-12, and Westbrook’s assist totals are way down, back to his rookie numbers (5.3). Can all of that be traced to the loss of Krstic and Green and the changing dynamic of the Thunder squad?

“I think our assist totals are down as a team,” said Thunder coach Scotty Brooks. True enough. The Boomers are averaging 18.1 assists per game. They averaged 20.4 assists per game last season.

Before the trade, the Thunder averaged 20.0 assists per game. In those nine games without Green and Krstic, but also without Perkins, the Thunder averaged 22.4 assists per game. In the 17 games after Perk’s arrival, the Thunder averaged 20.6 assists per game. So the assists actually were up a little after the trade.

The Thunder is down 2.3 assists per game as a team. Westbrook accounts for more than all of that, with his 2.9 drop.

So what is Westbrook doing? I assume shooting more. Let’s check. This year, Westbrook has taken 517 shots, plus 165 foul shots, which we’ll count as 82 virtual shots. That’s 599 virtual shots, in 28 games. That’s 21.4 per game.

Frankly, that doesn’t strike me as a ton for a team that relies so heavily on only three offensive players. Kevin Durant has taken 637 virtual shots; James Harden has taken 372.

A season ago, Westbrook took 1,705 virtual shots (1,390 field-goal attempts, 631 foul shots). That’s 20.8 per game. So Westbrook is averaging about a half a virtual shot per game. When you factor in that Westbrook is shooting at a higher percentage this season (.468, compared to .442 a year ago), I don’t see how we can make the charge that Westbrook is shooting too much.

So why the fewer assists? I don’t see how we can blame it on Kendrick Perkins or Westbrook shooting too much.

“It’s something we’re going to continue to work on,” Brooks said. “We have other guys involved in making plays. Everybody has to be involved in making plays.”

Brooks said the Thunder has developed a bad habit of catching and dribbling instead of catching and shooting (Daequan Cook a notable exception).

“There’s no doubt we’ve played different when we made the trade,” Brooks said. “It made us better. Nenad gave us something Perk doesn’t give us, but Perk gave us something we really need.”

Brooks said that with Krstic, the Thunder occasionally ran trick plays, and “Russell would get the assists. Those are things we continue to build, more assists to baskets.”

OU will play four regular-season games in the state of Texas: Sept. 1 at Texas-El Paso, Oct. 6 at Texas Tech, Oct. 13 against Texas in Dallas and Dec. 1 at TCU.

Only four times in history have the Sooners played four games in Texas, and three of those times came with the help of a post-season game:

2010: beat Texas 28-20 in Dallas, lost to Texas A&M 33-19 in College Station, beat Baylor 53-24 in Waco and beat Nebraska 23-20 in the Big 12 title game in Arlington.

2009: lost to Brigham Young 14-13 in Arlington, lost to Texas 16-13 in Dallas, lost to Texas Tech 41-13 in Lubbock and beat Stanford 31-27 in El Paso’s Sun Bowl.

2002: beat Texas 35-24 in Dallas, lost to Texas A&M 30-26 in College Station, beat Baylor 49-9 in Waco and beat Colorado 29-7 in the Big 12 title game in Houston.

1998: beat TCU 10-9 in Fort Worth, lost to Texas 34-3 in Dallas, lost to Texas A&M 29-0 in College Station and beat Baylor 28-16 in Waco.

This coming season, the Sooners could end up playing five games in Texas, should they land in the Cotton Bowl or Houston bowl or even the TicketCity Bowl.

Never have the Sooners won four games in the state of Texas in a single season. OU will be heavy favorites at UTEP and Tech; they figure to be moderate favorites against Texas and TCU.

OSU hosts Savannah State on Sept. 1, and there is no pleasant way to put this. Savannah State will be the worst opponent the Cowboys have ever played, at least going back to World War I. I can’t speak for some of the teacher colleges of the Woodrow Wilson era. But Savannah State will be the worst in at least 90 years.

There is no shame in Stillwater when it comes to scheduling.

Savannah State is a Division I-AA program in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Savannah State joined the MEAC for the 2010 season and was independent  the eight years before that. Before 2002, Savannah State was NCAA Division II, the level at which Central Oklahoma and Southwestern State play.

Here are Savannah State’s season records going backwards from 2011:

1-10, 1-10, 2-8, 5-7, 1-9, 3-8, 0-11, 2-8, 0-12, 1-9, 2-7, 2-8.

That’s 12 seasons in the 2000s, with 20 total victories.

Savannah State has beaten Morris Brown, Miles, Edward Waters, Livingstone and North Carolina Central twice. Savannah State has beaten Winston-Salem State, Clark Atlanta, Concordia College, Webber International, Johnson C. Smith, Morehouse, Norfolk State, Allen, South Carolina State and Fort Valley State once each.

In 2011, Savannah State lost 59-3 to Bethune-Cookman, 45-3 to Norfolk State, 47-7 to Florida A&M, 44-17 to Morgan State, 41-6 to Appalachian State and 63-6 to Southeastern Louisiana.

And now Savannah State comes to Stillwater to usher in the post-Brandon Weeden era. I know that scheduling I-AA opponents has become common. I know that it’s become almost necessary at times. I know all the reasons.

It still stinks. Especially when the talent and resources discrepancy is so huge. Savannah State plays in a 7,500-seat stadium. Savannah State never has played a major-college opponent. Savannah State in the ’90s played Central Florida and Middle Tennessee, but that was before those schools made the jump to NCAA Division I-A.

Savannah State football is known for two things. Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe played there. So did Troy Hambrick, a tailback who gained 972 yards for the 2003 Dallas Cowboys. Alas, I doubt Sharpe or Hambrick suits up for Savannah State on Sept. 1, in what promises to be a very embarrassing game for college football, the Big 12 and OSU.

But there’s what’s interesting. In the 21/2 years since the Thunder became a Western contender, the Thunder has been a better road team, comparative to the rest of the league, than a home team.

That’s different this season, with limited data. The Thunder is 9-1 at home. The Thunder is 12-5 on the road, which is the NBA’s best road record. Ironically, the two teams that have played the most road games (Chicago 20, OKC 17, though Indiana and Toronto also have played 17), have the league’s best records. OKC is 21-6, the Bulls are 23-7.

But in 2010-11, when the Thunder finished 55-27, OKC tied Miami and the Lakers for the NBA’s fifth-best home record, 30-11. The Thunder tied the Spurs for the NBA’s fifth-best road record, 25-16.

In the Thunder’s breakout season two years ago, OKC finished 50-32. The Thunder went 27-14 at home, the 12th-best home record in the NBA. The Thunder went 23-18 on the road, tying the Lakers and Heat, ironically enough, for the sixth-best road record.

This year, OKC ties Chicago for the second-best home record (San Antonio is 13-1).

Keep that kind of home record going, especially through the next 10 days, and the Thunder very well will finish with the league’s best record overall.

Can we all just get off the notion that anyone is mistreated by the schedule? What goes around comes around. The chaos of conference realignment wrecked the rhythm of Big 12 scheduling, but no one was mistreated.

Of course, Bob Stoops believes he was. “It takes awhile to get it right,” Stoops said of waiting on the schedule. “With the all the realignment that’s happened, that’s been cause to delay it this way. They’re trying to be right about it, to make sure, too, that certain teams aren’t hurt maybe the way we were a year ago having to go on the road to your in-state rivals back to back and down to Baylor as well. To look at things like that. To make it equal to everybody as much as you can.”

Let me get this straight. OU had to play at OSU in back-to-back years, and that’s some kind of injustice, even though the Sooners hadn’t lost in Stillwater since 2002. And even though the Cowboys had to play at Texas in consecutive years, even though until those consecutive years OSU had NEVER won in Austin. And even though the Sooners got to play Texas Tech two straight years in Norman, relief of high levels since the Sooners haven’t won in Lubbock since 2003?

And Stoops bringing up Baylor? Having to go to Waco in consecutive years? Until November 2011, Oklahoma had never lost to Baylor anywhere. So suddenly the Big 12 is supposed to be gentle with where the Sooners face the Bears?

Here’s the truth about Big 12 scheduling. It’s been a mess. Changes have had to occur. The only promise is that if you get five home games this year, you’ll only get four next year. Get a bad draw on having to go to Waco the year Robert Griffin wins the Heisman Trophy and Baylor has its best team in 30 years? Well, tough.

If you ask me, OU got a scheduling break in 2011. If the rotation had been as usual, then the Sooners would have gotten Baylor in Norman and almost certainly would have won. But OU would have lost at Tech, since the Sooners always seem to lose in Lubbock and lost to Tech in Norman anyway. And OU wouldn’t have won Bedlam at Owen Field. OSU was that much better than the Sooners in 2011.

Going to Stillwater twice in a row actually was a blessing for OU, because that means the Cowboys go to Norman in 2012. And 2012 shapes up as a year when OSU could use homefield advantage in Bedlam. State didn’t need it in 2011.

So enough persecution complex. Enough playing the martyr. Show up when and where you’re supposed to play and don’t blame Big 12 schedule-makers if your season doesn’t go as you wished.

Stoops on Monday was on The Sports Animal with my radio partners Al Eschbach and Jim Traber.

“Not usually I’m real fired about being fourth, but I’ll take it,” Stoops said. “I had a heck of a time. It was a lot of fun.”

You can hear the entire interview here. Here is what Stoops had to say.

How was the experience?

Stoops: “Two days in a row, Hunter and I didn’t finish well, 17, 18, we didn’t play as well. It’s kind of where it got us. And I didn’t help us early. I played really poorly the first day. Which is my first round of golf since July. Hard to get in any kind of rhythm. So we fought back. Had a huge day on Saturday.”

So, are you ready for the Seniors tour?

Stoops: “I’m a long way from that. But I’ll keep the job I’ve got, if that’s all right.”

We hear you almost had an ace on 17?

Stoops: “It was funny. I was just thinking, stay behind the ball, follow through. I don’t hit my 7-metal very well. Had to carry it about 185, the breeze was coming off the water. Just going through those thoughts. I hit it perfect, right down the middle of the green. That’s just where I was told to hit it. There’s a bank there, and it shoots it left, right to the pin. Now I hear all the people at the green going crazy. I’m just thanking the people at the tee box. Now my caddy starts yelling at me, ‘Hey, it’s going in, it’s going on.’ We look, and that ball’s going dead at it. It stops about six, eight inches right at the hole. Not too nervous tapping in a birdie, anyway.”

What was it like playing at Pebble Beach?

Stoops: “It was awesome. I really enjoyed it. I’ve never been in a tournament or a pro-am. All the people were fantastic. The pros were all great. The different celebrities were awesome. Everybody was there, maybe it’s more relaxed. I know the pros, you could tell Saturday and Sunday, they’re focused when they had to be. The accommodations were incredible. I’d never been to Pebble Beach. The course was absolute phenomenal.”

How tough is Spyglass, one of the three courses used in the tournament?

Stoops: “Really tough. We played that the first day. That’s why we didn’t get off to a great start. When everybody else had to play it, they fell back too. Spyglass was really tough. But I thought Pebble was just awesome. Monterrey Peninsula Country Club, on the water, was equally. It’s a links course. Really beautiful with the scenery and the water involved so much.”

How did you get in the tournament?

Stoops: “I’ve been asked for a few years to go. I declined, just because of time away. You kind of pick and choose what you’re going to do. This year, I thought, ‘I need to do this.’ There’s good people there. The CEO for AT&T, Randall Stephenson, is an Oklahoma guy. I thought, ‘Hey, good chance to visit with him and some of the other people there.’ I was glad I did. I planned on coming home Sunday, that’s what my flight was set for, but I had to change it. Just really had a great time with it.”

Was it cool to have CBS’ Peter Kostis break down your swing?

Stoops: “I got a big kick out of that. I started laughing. ‘Really, we’re going to look at my swing?’ When I have bad shots, I get wristy. As soon as I saw it, how ugly does that look, when I lift that club up, or cock that wrist? I know better. When I have good shots through the day, you don’t do that. I look right at my caddy, I got wristy, didn’t I? It was pretty fun to see it, though.”

Does this mean you’ll get in more golf?

Stoops: “No, no, no. Not at all. It was a one weekend thing. It was fun to be with Hunter Haas. What a neat guy he is. He’s done well on the tour. I think he earned over a $1 million on the tour a year ago. Really a bright, sharp young guy. An Oklahoma guy. It was fun to play with him.”

Bill Belichick played, too. He made out like he hadn’t played, but he spent two days in Arizona working on his swing.

Stoops: “But you can’t honestly say just two days (makes a difference). He’s only had two days. You know it takes more than a couple of days. I’ve been going to the … university course. (OU coach) Ryan Hybl’s been helping me a little bit, just for a few days, to hit balls for 20 minutes, just to get some semblance of a swing. When you haven’t played for so long, it’s just hard to do.”

Did you get to meet some of the other PGA Tour golfers?

Stoops: “Bunch of them. The last day, with Hunter Haas, but also with Lee Janzen, and Rocco Mediate. Rocco was a fun guy. He’s from the Pittsburgh area. Really a fun, fun guy to play. It was a lot of fun. To top the weekend off, though, the very last hole, I played really well, had three birdies, got a chance to break 80, hit a great drive on my last hole, got a 3-metal in, playing No. 9, the last hole I’ve got to play. It’s a long par-4. I flair it right, don’t stay behind it. Which I do once in awhile. Goes off the bank towards the ocean. So I’m thinking I’m done. But then I see Hunter doesn’t do well, he’s off in the rough. So I say to my caddie, ‘I better drop, try to project him. I get a stroke here.’ So I shoot it at the green, and I miss it left by about 10 yards. I’m off the green. His chip up wasn’t good. So I told my caddie, ‘I’m going to chip this in, for a 5-4.’ What do you think happened? I chipped it up, rolled right in the cup. The pro guys were dying laughing. But because I bogeyed, I ended up shooting 80 instead of 79.”

What was your handicap?

Stoops: “Fourteen. Fortunately, by the fourth day playing, you start to feel a little better, start to figure out what you’re doing. Again, when you haven’t played rounds of golf, you know how that can be. For a guy that hasn’t played a lot, you start to have a little more of a feel. I tell you what else, when you play with those pros, instead of intimidating, it makes you feel better. You’re watching ‘em, I’m a pretty good visual learner. You can emulate ‘em a little bit. You think, ‘OK, stay behind it, shorter backswing.’ Actually makes you play a little better playing with those guys.”

Did you give Tiger Woods any advice?

Stoops: “No, I didn’t. Fortunately, I was making a lot of those four- and five-footers.”

You shot 80. That’s just five shots worse than Tiger.

Stoops: “I had a different teebox, though.”

Were you nervous playing in front of the crowd?

Stoops: “You know what, only the very first hole, the first day. They introduce you. Got up there, just a little bit. I kind of pull-hooked it. A 3-metal. After that, I laughed at myself. I’m like, ‘Really? It really matters to me?’ Like I don’t have a good job, don’t play in front of 85,000 people or whatever it is every weekend. After that, it didn’t bother me a bit. I think it actually helped me focus and play a little better.”

Does it help that golf is not your No. 1 thing?

Stoops: “When you haven’t played a full round of golf, I’m thinking, I might just cut across this thing and kill someone over on the right. That’s kind of what it was, more than anything. After that, I wasn’t bothered a bit. Like I said, it sort of energized me. I thought it was fun. The best shot I hit, maybe the whole time, they’ve got that rowdy group on Saturday, at the teebox, Kevin Chappell, the other pro I was playing with. It’s my turn to hit. He tells ‘em, ‘Hey, he likes it when it’s noisy. I hit the best drive I hit in four days. Then they got rowdier. So in the end, it was kind of fun, actually, having people around.”

Will you play in the Pebble Pro-Am every year?

Stoops: “I don’t know that I’ll always have time for it. You know how it is. I hope to, I hope to be able to do it some more. But just like some other times, I haven’t been able to go. It’s just not always the easiest thing to do. I’ve been asked to go out to the one at Tahoe (another pro-am) a bunch but can’t always work it out, when you’re doing family things and keeping track of your team, too.”

Did your wife get to go?

Stoops: “Oh yeah, Carol was with me. Sure. She loves that area, too. She watched some of the golf. Watched the whole Sunday. Other times, would just come to parts of it, then go around to Carmel and some of those other areas other times. It’s a beautiful area.”

What about those houses on the course?

Stoops: “Somebody said to me, I don’t know if it’s true, it’s probably the most valuable property in the country. Maybe that’s … I can see why. It’s pretty incredible. I’ll say this though. If you live there, you get a lot of days like this (overcast). You’re not seeing a lot of sunshine now.”

Did you see Merrill Lynch bull in the backyard?

Stoops: “Oh yeah. You can see it sitting there. No one pointed it out to me. I didn’t see it Saturday. I noticed it yesterday. The pros are teeing off, I said, what in the heck is that? Then I figured it out.”

So who would the Thunder rather face? For that matter, how do all the Western Conference contenders rank in terms of undesirability for the Thunder. Here’s my guess.

1. Clippers: For reasons I don’t understand, the Clippers always have been tough on the Thunder, even when the Clippers stink. The Thunder went 2-1 vs. the Clippers two seasons ago, when the Clips had neither Chris Paul or Blake Griffin. The Thunder went 2-2 vs. the Clippers last season, when LA had Griffin. This year, the Clippers routed the Thunder in their lone meeting so far. Russell Westbrook generally presses (and plays poorly) against CP3. The Thunder would like to avoid the Clippers.

2. Dallas: The Thunder is 2-1 vs. the Mavericks this season, including a win in Dallas. But one of the victories was on Kevin Durant’s buzzer-beater. And the Mavs believe they can beat OKC. Jason Terry is a Thunder-killer. Shawn Marion is a tough defender on Kevin Durant. The Thunder would be best served avoiding the Mavericks.

3. Portland: The Blazers aren’t setting the West on fire. They are 15-13 and ranked eighth currently in the West. But the Blazers also match up well with OKC. Gerald Wallace is a tough defender on Durant. LaMarcus Aldridge is fabulous. The Blazers are the only visiting team to win in Oklahoma City this season.

4. Memphis: The Thunder and Grizzlies played that gut-check seven-game series in the Western semifinals last season, and this year seems no different. The Thunder is 3-0 vs. Memphis, but the victories were by three in Memphis, five in Memnphis and seven in OKC. And that’s all without Zach Randolph, who has been sidelined most of the season but could return for the playoffs. Kevin Durant would put the Grizzlies No. 1 on this list. Seven straight games of Tony Allen is KD’s worst nightmare.

5. San Antonio: The Thunder generally plays poorly against the Spurs. They’ve split two blowouts this season, the Spurs were 3-0 in 2010-11 and 3-1 in 2009-10 vs. the Thunder. But the Spurs shouldn’t scare the Thunder. The Spurs are getting old. They had the No. 1 seed in the 2011 playoffs but were stunned by Memphis in the first round. San Antonio is playing well this season, but their window is closing fast.

6. Lakers: I know, sounds crazy to sign up for Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. But the truth is, the Lakers want no part of the Thunder. The Thunder played the Lakers tough two years ago in that playoff series. Look how high the Thunder has risen since then. Durant is a much better player. Russell Westbrook is a much better player. James Harden is a much better player. Serge Ibaka is a much better player. Kendrick Perkins has joined the squad. Meanwhile, the Lakers have just gotten old.

7. Denver: The Nuggets actually played the Thunder fairly tough last April, though the Thunder won the best-of-seven series in five games. But Denver doesn’t appear to be quite as good as last season. The Nuggets get by on moxie, but that doesn’t last long in the playoffs.

8. Utah: The Jazz really doesn’t have a prayer against OKC. The Thunder’s quartet of big men matches Utah’s inside strength, and the Jazz can’t guard Durant or Westbrook for short stretches, much less over a series.

9. Houston: The Thunder has won six of its last seven against the Rockets. I can’t imagine the Rockets keep playing at their current pace (16-12), but if they meet the Thunder, OKC will be pleased.

10. Minnesota: The Timberwolves would be fun. Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio. But not too pressing for the Thunder.

I ran some numbers that hopefully will put it in perspective. In the last 10 years, only 12 times, before Ibaka, had a player recorded 10 blocks in a game:

March 2011: JaVale McGee 12 — just because he’s a knucklehead doesn’t mean he can’t create havoc for the other team, too.

January 2008: Marcus Camby 11 — Camby never really has gotten his due. He’s been a really good player for a very long time.

November 2002:  Ben Wallace 10 — we forget how good Big Ben was back in the Piston salad days.

January 2003: Jermaine O’Neal 10 — I’ve got to admit, I guess I never knew he was such a defensive force.

January 2004: Dikembe Mutombo 10 — Now him, I knew about.

January 2004: Calvin Booth 10 — Who is Calvin Booth and what is he doing on my list? A 10-year journeyman, 6-foot-11 center out of Penn State, started 83 career games.

February 2004: Amare Stoudemire 10 — Are you kidding me? Amare Stoudemire once blocked 10 shots in a game? Just exactly how did he veer off Superstar Boulevard? Was it all health-related?

December 2004: Josh Smith 10 — Still a ballplayer. A better ballplayer than Carmelo Anthony, if you want the truth.

March 2006: Andrei Kirilenko 10 — Watching the Jazz the other night, I wondered what happened to AK47. Turns out he signed with CSKA Moscow and, despite an opt-out clause, Kirilenko apparently has decided to remain with the Russian team the rest of this season. By the way, old pal Nenad Krstic is on that team, too.

January 2007: Emeka Okafor 10 — Okafor’s a good ballplayer. He’s sort of lost in New Orleans.

December 2007: Marcus Camby 10 — Like I said…

November 2008: Dwight Howard 10 — Does it surprise you that Serge Ibaka has more career games of double-digit blocked shots than does Dwight Howard?

Anyway, that’s rare are. Counting Ibaka, that’s 14 games of double-digit blocked shots. So what does that equate to? Fifty points, 20 assists, 25 rebounds?

I ran some more numbers. In the last 10 seasons, NBA players have produced 75 games of  a player reaching at least 50 points. So 10 blocks is much more rare. The league has had eight 60-point games. So let’s find a happy medium. The NBA has had 11 56-point games in 10 years, though none since February 2009, when Kobe Bryant scored 61.

So Serge Ibaka’s 10 blocks are about as common as a 56-point game.

Let’s go to rebounding. In the last 10 years, there have been 21 25-rebound games. There have been 12 26-rebound games. The most recent was a 27-rebound game by Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut in January 2011. Interestingly, those 12 games were produced by 12 players. No one did it twice.

So Serge Ibaka’s 10-blocks game was about as common as a 56-point or 26-rebound game.

Let’s try assists.  There have been 29 20-assist games. So we’ve got to go higher. Let’s try 21. There have been 11 21-assist games, most recently by Deron Williams (once) and Rajon Rondo (twice) last season.

So Ibaka’s 10-blocks game was about as common as a 56-point or 26-rebound game or a 21-assist game.

And here’s what’s most impressive. Ibaka did it twice in nine days. In 10 years, only 12 times had a player blocked 10 shots in a game. Then Ibaka did it twice in a six-game span.

We are seeing something special.

Simmons, OSU’s head coach from 1995 through 2001, told me Sunday night he has talked with West Virginia people about returning to the staff. Simmons said he hasn’t spoken with head coach Dana Holgorsen yet but hopes to.

“I would like to” return to West Virginia, Simmons said. “It’d be great. I hope it happens.”

Simmons coached all-American linebacker Darryl Talley at West Virginia in the ’80s. Simmons was on the Mountaineer staff when Oliver Luck quarterbacked West Virginia. Luck now is WVU’s athletic director.

Simmons would add to a heavy Oklahoma State tint in Morgantown. Holgorsen came from OSU, where he was Mike Gundy’s offensive coordinator in 2010. Holgorsen in January hired away Joe DeForest, OSU’s longest-serving assistant coach.

West Virginia joins the Big 12 this summer. The Mountaineers apparently will play in Stillwater in the 2012 season.

Simmons, 62, coached at Bowling Green in 1976 and Toledo in 1977-79 before joining Nehlen’s West Virginia staff from 1980-87. Simmons then went to Colorado with Bill McCartney, coaching seven years, before getting the OSU job. After leaving OSU, Simmons sat out a season, then coached six years for Tyrone Willingham, three at Notre Dame and three at Washington.

Simmons now lives in the Denver area.

1. Kansas +4 (10-2, 20-5): The Jayhawks get Missouri in Lawrence. That’s the difference in the remaining schedule.

2. Missouri +4 (10-2, 23-2): Other than that trip to Allen Fieldhouse, the Tigers actually have less of a chance to lose than do the Jayhawks. MU plays road games at Texas A&M and Texas Tech. KU goes to Manhattan, Stillwater and College Station.

3. Baylor +3 (8-4, 21-4): The Bears have only two road games left: Iowa State and Texas.

4. Iowa State +2 (8-4, 18-7): Cyclones are NCAA Tournament bound. I’ll vote Fred Hoiberg Big 12 coach of the year.

5. Kansas State even (6-6, 17-7): Wildcats are on the NCAAA Tournament bubble.

6. Texas -1 (6-6, 16-9): Longhorns have four road games left — Norman, Stillwater, Lubbock and Lawrence.

7. Oklahoma State -1 (5-7, 12-13): Cowboys could challenge for fifth, but the schedule is imposing — at Missouri, at OU, at K-State, home against Texas, Kansas and A&M. Cowboys could fall to eighth.

8. Texas A&M -3  (3-9, 12-12): Aggies have played their toughest road games (they have Tech, OU and OSU left), but Missouri, Kansas and K-State come to College Station.

9. Oklahoma -3 (3-9, 13-11): The Sooners have lost all momentum from playing decently early in the season. They could lose out.

10. Texas Tech -5 (1-11, 8-16): Red Raiders have a chance at a couple more victories — they host A&M and Texas.