Blue, a rising senior, suffered a tear of his lateral meniscus when he collided with a teammate while driving for a layup at the end of the workout, according to Middle Tennessee head men's basketball coach Kermit Davis.

"Tim had surgery today and will be out about six weeks," Davis said. "It is something Tim can recover from very quickly and he will continue to have a great summer. We had feared it was an ACL, which would have kept him out for about six months so the news is much better than we had originally thought."

Blue averaged 9.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in his first season with the Blue Raiders in 2005-06 and played in all 28 games. He was having a strong offseason and has increased his weight, as well as strength and conditioning. Blue will be named the squad's most improved performer, in terms of the Blue Raider strength and conditioning program, at a team cookout at Davis' home Sunday afternoon.

"It's really unfortunate because Tim Blue has made such progress," Davis said. "He has matured more than anybody we have had on our team in so many areas during this offseason, but, like I said, he will have plenty of time to overcome this and that's the good news."

In other rehabilitation news involving Middle Tennessee basketball players, guard Adam Vogelsberg and forward Dino Hair are recovering well from their respective surgeries.

Vogelsberg, a rising senior, had shoulder surgery following the season and is in his fifth week of rehabilitation. Vogelsberg suffered the tear in his shoulder prior to the season and played through the injury all season. He still led the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game and was an All-Sun Belt Conference selection. Vogelsberg also set the single-season free-throw percentage record with a 90.8 percent (108-of-119) shooting clip.

"Dr. (Michael) Jordan told me after the surgery that (Vogelsberg) must be one tough cat to have played all year because it was a big tear," Davis said. "Two days after the surgery he is trying to ride a bike and we have to make him stop. He is now back shooting and he won't be released for contact for about two more months."

Hair, a highly-regarded member of the Middle Tennessee's signing class last season, suffered an ACL tear in a preseason scrimmage against Ole Miss and was forced to take a redshirt year. Hair was originally expected to be an impact player in his inaugural season.

"Dino has completed five months of rehab following ACL surgery, and he has really made great progress," Davis said. "(Athletic trainer) Drew Shea has done a really good job with him. Dino has participated in all of our individual instruction drills. He hasn't been in live contact but he's dunking the ball and moving very quickly. If we had to play in a championship game today he could probably play, but we are going to be very conservative with him for about four more weeks. I would think by mid-June he will be fully cleared."

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