Jeremy Case, right, is entering his fifth year with the Jayhawks, a fact not lost on teammates who insist on ribbing him about his experience.

Jeremy Case has heard the teasing. He knows what gives teammates reason to laugh at his expense.

Jeremy Case is old.

“There’s always little jokes,” he said. “Like, ‘Case is 36,’ and stuff like that. ‘I’ve been here 10 years.'”

Actually, Case isn’t much older than most of his teammates. He turns 23 the second week of November. It just seems like he’s 36 years old.

That’s because this year will be Case’s fifth go-round in the Kansas University men’s basketball program. After his freshman season ended in 2004, he decided to red-shirt and retain a year of eligibility.

“It mainly was, we had a lot of guys coming back, and my chances of getting to play a lot were very slim,” Case said. “I wanted to save that year, get stronger and get better.”

As a result of that decision, Case already has put in his four years of school and earned an undergraduate degree. He graduated in May with a degree in communication studies.

“It was a great experience walking through the bell and walking down the hill seeing everybody,” Case said of the graduation ceremony. “It was kind of like a weight off my shoulders. Just, I made it through, got my degree, and it felt good.”

Now, Case is enrolled in classes again – this time in graduate school in sports management. He said the difference between graduate and undergraduate school is drastic.

“I feel like I have a lot more time,” Case said. “I can get in extra shooting without being tired. I can get more sleep. It seems a lot more relaxing.”

With Case the only current KU player to have earned his degree already, one might assume he’s the most advanced Jayhawk in age. Lost in all the ribbing from teammates, though, is the fact that Case isn’t even the oldest one on the team. That distinction goes to fellow senior Rodrick Stewart, who is actually more than five months older than Case. But Stewart, who transferred in to KU from Southern California, said he doesn’t hear nearly the same wise-cracking as Case does.

“We have a real funny team, so we just love to have fun,” Stewart said, “but we definitely do make fun of him.”

Case doesn’t appear too concerned about it, though. He knows it’s all in good fun. He said while he hears plenty of comments, his teammates know they can count on him for just about anything.

“I’ve got respect from the guys,” Case said. “They understand that I’ve been through a lot, so when they have questions, they ask.”

Senior Sasha Kaun said Case certainly has earned the players’ respect.

“He’s been great,” Kaun said. “He’s a great guy and a really nice person.”

With the admiration of teammates, a degree in hand and another one in the works, Case already is a success story, even if things don’t pan out the way he wants on the court this year.

Not bad for a guy who’s almost 23, going on 36.