Michael Lee
Overview
A stocky combo guard who emerged his sophomore season as the Jayhawks[apos] most effective perimeter weapon off the bench… Suffered an injury early in his junior season causing him to miss nine games, but came back to be a spark in a reserve role… Excels at sticking the three-pointer when left open, and is shooting nearly 42 percent from beyond the arc for his career… A very impressive perimeter defender… A consistent, reliable performer who brings a lot of intangibles to the table… One of the team[apos]s best free throw shooters… A solid rebounder for his size… Plays with a ton of heart and desire.
Junior Season (2003-04)
One of four Jayhawks to receive the James Naismith Captain Award… Started the first two games of the season before suffering an injury in practice causing him to miss the next nine contests… Posted averages of 5.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 18.5 minutes per game… Saw action in 24 games with three starting assignments… Was the first player off the Kansas bench a team leading nine times… Drew three charges which tied for fourth on the team… Proved his reliability at the end of games by connecting on 14 of 17 free throws in the last five minutes of ballgames… Canned 80 percent of his free throws overall to rank second on the team… Fourth on the team in assists with 38 and tied for fifth in steals with 14… Had his top scoring game of the season in his first game back from the injury when he pumped in 16 points and grabbed three boards versus Kansas State on Jan. 14… Tied a career-high eight rebounds and dished a new career-high six dimes to go with seven points in a win over Colorado on Jan. 25… Scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting versus Oklahoma on Feb. 29… Reached double-figures with 11 points to go with five rebounds and two assists before fouling out versus Georgia Tech in the NCAA Tournament on March 28.
Sophomore Season (2002-03)
Earned the Clyde Lovellette Most Improved Player Award at the team[apos]s annual postseason awards ceremony… Saw action in 37 games, logging 16.0 minutes per contest… Scored a career-high 4.9 points and grabbed a career-best 2.3 rebounds per game… Shot 49.2 percent from the field and 50.0 percent (21-of-42) from beyond the arc… Nailed 73.2 percent of his free throws… Dished out 37 assists and tallied 27 steals… Was the first player off the bench for KU a team-high 19 times… Scored in double-figures on five occasions… Lee[apos]s breakout game came on Dec. 7 in his hometown of Portland, Ore., as he came off the bench for a then-career-high 11 points to go with a career-best eight rebounds against the Oregon Ducks… Tied his then-career-high with 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting against UNC Asheville on Jan. 2… Dished out a career-high five assists against UMKC on Jan. 4… Had eight points and four boards in a win over Nebraska on Jan. 11… Tallied five points and seven boards at Nebraska on Feb. 1… Registered seven points and five boards at Baylor on Feb. 11… Came up big at Missouri on March 9, scoring 11 points and grabbing three boards in KU[apos]s 79-74 win over the Tigers to close out the regular season… Tallied 10 points and four rebounds in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Arizona State on March 22… Poured in a career-high 13 points to go with six boards and four assists in the NCAA National Semifinals against Marquette on April 5.
Freshman Season (2001-02)
Saw action in 27 of Kansas[apos] 37 games, averaging 3.3 minutes per outing… Scored 1.2 points to go with 0.4 rebounds per contest… Hit 5-of-10 three-pointers for an impressive 50.0 percent… Dished out eight assists and tallied two steals… Scored in 10 of 27 games played… Played in each of Kansas[apos] first five games, including scoring two and five points, respectively, against Ball State and Houston in the Maui Invitational… His 10 minutes played against the Cougars marked a season-high… Had a then-career-high seven points on 3-for-3 shooting against Pittsburg State on Nov. 28… Played two minutes in KU[apos]s win at Arizona on Dec. 1… Scored two points in just five minutes against UMKC on Dec. 8… Saw three minutes of action at Princeton on Dec. 12… Scored at least two points in consecutive games against South Carolina State and at North Dakota… Saw his first conference action as a Jayhawk against Colorado on Jan. 5 in Boulder… Had five points and two rebounds in eight minutes of action against Nebraska on Jan. 9… Played in five-straight Big 12 contests, seeing time in consecutive games against Texas A&M, Missouri, Colorado, Kansas State and Texas Tech from Jan. 26-Feb. 9… Tallied five points to go with a then-career-best three rebounds in just seven minutes of play versus Texas Tech on March 9 in the Big 12 Tournament… Saw action in two of the Jayhawks[apos] NCAA Tournament outings, playing one minute each against Stanford on March 16 and Oregon on March 24.
High School
Jefferson High School (2001)… Coached by Marshall Haskins… Earned first-team All-State honors as a senior… Put up 19.7 points per game in his final campaign at Jefferson, leading the Democrats to a third-place finish at state… Played a key role in Jefferson[apos]s 28-0 record and state championship run as a junior, averaging 12 points and five rebounds per game… Named the Portland Interscholastic Defensive Player of the year in football his senior year… Carried a 3.3 GPA in high school.
Off The Court
Joins teammate Aaron Miles in becoming the first players from Oregon to suit up for the Jayhawks… A versatile athlete, Lee was a standout tight end and defensive back on his high school football team, and he received scholarship offers to play football at Oregon State, Washington State and Washington… Has two cousins playing professional sports — Eugene Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons and Keith Closs of the Los Angeles Clippers… Entered into elite company when choosing No. 25, as he becomes the first Jayhawk to don that number since the legendary Danny Manning.
Career Honors
2004: James Naismith Captain Award. 2003: Clyde Lovellette Most Improved Player Award.