I don't think Mike knew much beyond what he absorbed from the typical (for the time) college/Chicago scene. By this I mean he knew the names and basic styles but was not deeply into any of it.
An interesting bit of the flavor of mid '60s musical Chicago (from a white kid perspective) can be gleaned from a series of pieces by Nick Gravenites (Nick the Greek) available HERE.
Nick is a bit over the top but you get the idea. Also note, Lester Bowie is not on the recording of "Whole Lotta Soul" mentioned, but Roscoe, Julian Priester and Steve McCall are. I do have one of the surviving pressings. This was recorded before Lester moved to Chicago. I think Nick remembers Lester from the Summer '68 trip by the Art Ensemble when they crashed at his place outside San Francisco.
BTW, Baby Face Willette is mentioned briefly in Nick's "journal".