Aaron Miles had flashbacks to high school while watching his best buddy, Michael Lee, practice basketball in a yellow jersey Wednesday at Kansas University’s Horejsi Center.

“Mike Lee … he had a yellow jersey on in football back in the day. He couldn’t get touched,” Miles said of KU’s junior guard, who played quarterback, running back, linebacker, tight end, wide receiver, kicker and punter during his four years at Portland (Ore.) Jefferson High.

The yellow jersey in football is reserved for quarterbacks who are off-limits to contact at practice.

It’s being used at KU hoops practices for Lee, cleared to practice five weeks after breaking his right collarbone.

“He’s fine, but we just wanted to get him some confidence. By Friday, he’ll be full speed,” KU coach Bill Self said, indicating Lee is expected to return for the Kansas State game Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse.

Even with the yellow jersey on his back, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Lee couldn’t avoid a bit of banging Wednesday.

“I got pushed to the floor,” Lee said after KU’s early afternoon practice. “I drove to the basket and got hit. It (collarbone) was sore for a second, but I got right back in there. I think when I take that first (real) hit, I’ll be ready.”

Lee said he believed his shoulder was “80 to 90 percent” healed.

His conditioning is a different matter.

6Sports video: Michael Lee recovering, but still not being touched

“If I had to grade it, I’d give it a ‘D’ right now,” Lee said. “The quick turnaround from offense to defense is what’s killing me. I’ll get it back. When I play on the 14th, I’ll be ready.”

Lee, who has missed the last nine games, has been shooting well at practice.

“I think Mike’s biggest problem right now is fatigue,” Self said. “His shoulder is tired but can be built up through strength training. He told me a week ago he’s never gotten tired shooting free throws before. He just has a different range of motion and is using muscles he hasn’t used in a while.”

Lee said time will heal all his wounds, physical and mental.

“Sometimes I find myself playing a little timid,” Lee said. “It’ll come back to me. I’m not worried about it.”

Lee was an integral factor in the Jayhawks reaching the Final Four a year ago.

“He’s happy to be on the court and I’m happy to see him there,” Miles said. “We miss his intensity, enthusiasm, hard work, everything. Regardless of how hurt he is or how much pain he’s in, he’ll give it his all. He is one of our players who really takes pride in his defense.”

“Michael Lee definitely adds something to our team, no question,” Self said.

• Rotation talk: Self used four perimeter players — Miles, Keith Langford, J.R. Giddens and Jeff Hawkins — in Monday’s 77-62 win at Colorado. Jeremy Case, Omar Wilkes and Bryant Nash were not included in the rotation.

“They are not where they need to be, but both are doing fine,” Self said, asked specifically about the defense of freshmen Case and Wilkes. “Their role for the rest of the season is yet to be determined based on how Mike does and Jeff Hawkins,” Self added.

Speaking in general of the rotation, Self said recently:

“We’ll lock in at eight or nine (players). You can’t play 10 or 11. The ideal number right now is eight because when Mike returns, that’s nine. The time of giving guys a chance to play to earn minutes is about over. There are not games from this point you can put guys out there to see if they can do it or not.”

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Grade A: All 16 Jayhawks are academically eligible for second semester, Self reported.

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Graves looking good: KU senior center Jeff Graves, who had seven points and five rebounds at Colorado, has been the most impressive Jayhawk at practice since Christmas, Self said.

“I think Jeff feels good about himself,” Self said of the player who served a one-game suspension for disciplinary reasons first semester. “No matter what, if you are not taking care of business … you can fool a lot of people but not the guy in the mirror. The better you feel about yourself, the better you perform.

“Do we win the Colorado game if he’s not on the team? With David (Padgett) in foul trouble, that would be a tough one. He is a load down there. I am real pleased with Jeff.”

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More on travel woes: Because of travel snafus, the Jayhawks didn’t return from Colorado until 7 a.m. Tuesday.

Self’s luggage still hasn’t made it back to campus.

He and KU assistant sports information director Laura Lesko were the only two individuals on the 56-seat Sky King charter plane to return luggage-less.

“It’s kind of hard to lose luggage on a charter flight,” Self said, smiling. “If you watch them put it on the plane you should be able to get it off. It was such a screwed-up deal. The plane wasn’t there so they dumped the luggage out in some area. We didn’t know where the luggage was. I don’t know if my luggage ever even made it to the tarmac.”

Self remains pleased his Jayhawks handled a five-hour wait for their charter flight in Denver very well.

“That would have been a miserable experience if we hadn’t won,” Self said. “Everybody had a great attitude. It’s amazing how positive the players were. You never had to tell them, ‘Hey guys, relax a little bit.’ It was a long night, yet the attitude was all positive.”

• More prep juniors look at KU: Three juniors have told Shay Wildeboor of rivals.com they want to visit KU in the near future. They are: Tyler Smith, a 6-7 junior forward from Pulaski, Tenn.; Joe Darger, a 6-7 forward from Riverton, Utah and Theo Davis, a 6-10 center from Bayside, N.Y. Smith is considering KU, UCLA, Tennessee, Duke, North Carolina and others; Darger is looking at KU, UConn, Gonzaga, Arizona State, BYU, Utah and others; Davis has a list of KU, UConn, Ohio State, Syracuse, Texas, UCLA, Duke, Florida, North Carolina, Pitt, Virginia and others.