Most media-guide entries tout a player’s defensive ability or jumping prowess.

In Lee’s case, work ethic and foot speed are noteworthy attributes.

Lee’s build 6-foot-3 and a solid 215 pounds is a pretty fair quality, too.

But to hear KU senior guard Kirk Hinrich tell it, Lee’s most defining characteristic is none of the above.

“Michael,” Hinrich said, “is a great talker.”

Hinrich, a preseason All-America whom Lee guarded most of last season, is not bad-mouthing his amiable teammate the entire team knows Lee’s verbosity.

“Mike talk?” point guard Aaron Miles asked. “Yeah, Mike can talk. He’s got skills. He needs to be a lawyer or something.”

Lee just laughs. He maintains he is shy everywhere but the court, where he goes to work.

“It’s true in the sense that I talk a lot,” he said. “My mouth is a lot better than my game a lot of times.”

Hinrich’s ear has been on the receiving end. During practice last season, Lee would fill his ear with jive, and Hinrich would just fill the bucket.

“I’ll talk to him about how I’ll shut him down, and we’ll play to seven and he’ll have six,” Lee said.

Miles, one of Lee’s best friends since childhood, says the fellow Portland (Ore.) Jefferson High graduate isn’t far from matching his court skills to his mouth skills.

“He’s got game,” Miles said. “I don’t know if people realize that.”

Because of a thin bench, Lee could play a much larger role this year than the 89 minutes he played last season. Even if his 1.2-point scoring average doesn’t increase, Lee knows what his role will be this year.

“The main thing I’ve been focusing on is being a better defender and running the floor,” Lee said.

His freshman year out of the way, Lee is ready to make strides, and said he wasn’t fully prepared for the jump from high school hoops to college.

“I think that playing at this level, there’s just things you pick up,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to move up and down the court and be aggressive. I’m a lot more mentally prepared. I still think I’ll get a little nervous and stuff, but it’ll be a lot more fun.”

Besides, he already has his game going. Just listen.

“I pretty much think I can guard anybody,” Lee said.