The LSU men’s basketball team, already lacking in bodies, suffered another blow Sunday. Senior guard and projected starter Alex Farrer suffered a dislocated kneecap in a scrimmage against Houston. “I obviously feel for him,” said LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson. “I hate to see a guy who’s a fifth year senior, with how much time and effort he put into the program then see something like that happen.”Trainer Sean Eddy told Johnson the earliest Farrer could return would be six weeks. Johnson said the dislocation occurred on a play inconsequential to the game. “It happened three minutes into the scrimmage,” Johnson said. “It was unlike anything I’ve seen. The ball was on the clear other side of the floor, and the guy Alex was guarding made a simple cut on the baseline, not involved in the action. Alex turned, and it’s just one of those freak things.”Heralded freshman guard Aaron Dotson, from Seattle, has not been at full strength since his arrival in Baton Rouge. A knee injury that forced Dotson to miss his senior year of high school has lingered. Hobbled or not, Dotson will likely see significant playing time. He, along with sophomore guard Zach Kinsley, will try and fill Farrer’s gap. “Aaron and Zach have not handled the ball in certain key situations, and we’ll get a really good look at that come Friday,” Johnson said. “[Louisiana]-Monroe comes with multiple types of pressure. From my standpoint, what we were doing offensively, we’re going to have to adjust a bit more because Alex was a guy who made really good decisions.”Junior point guard Bo Spencer said Dotson’s knee has been looking better each practice. “You could tell he still has a little tip-toedness,” Spencer said. “He doesn’t really want to go full speed on it all the way. But I saw him do his first dunk the other day in the scrimmage.”Johnson said Dotson will have to learn how to maximize his effectiveness with a bum knee. “I’m not concerned as much about his lack of explosiveness, the thing I’m more concerned about is when he catches the ball on the wing, that he protects that thing,” Johnson said. “I’m more concerned about when they score that he sprints back on defense and understands what we’re doing. Now, this guy has to learn how to play without his legs.”Sophomore forward Garrett Green is still dealing with a back injury sustained after his freshman season. Green used a medical redshirt last year. Green missed three days of practice and the scrimmage against Houston. Johnson said Green tweaked his back when a South Alabama player stepped in under a dunking Green last weekend and took a charge. “Is it something he could have played and practiced with?” Johnson said. “I think so. But we need to be careful here.”Meanwhile, Spencer has been hampered by an avulsion fracture in his wrist he suffered at the end of last season. Spencer also reaggravated the injury during the offseason. “It’s feeling good,” Spencer said. “It’s not 100 percent yet, about 80. I guess just keep shooting and try to get my flexibility back.”Despite the rash of injuries, Johnson does not have a woeful attitude.”These guys know me and I understand injuries, but we’re not in sympathy mode here,” Johnson said. ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT, JOHNSON PAY FOR FIRST 500 NIT STUDENT TICKETSBecause of a snafu in NIT rules, LSU has been forced to charge students $4 to attend the Nov. 16 and 17 NIT Season Tip-Off games in the PMAC. So the LSU Athletic Department decided to pick up the tab for 250 students to enter the gates for each game. Johnson followed suit Tuesday. “I see where LSU is paying for the first 250 [student] tickets for the NIT [next Monday and Tuesday],” Johnson said. “How about Coach J pays for the next 250 students? That would be a pretty good deal huh? I think I want to pay for the next 250.”Johnson’s contribution means the first 500 students who enter each game will get in free of charge.—-Contact Chris Branch at [email protected]