BUFFALO, Minn — Every tattoo has a story.
"They're pretty sweet, it's a good story to tell," said Torii Johnson, a senior guard on the Buffalo boys basketball team.
Johnson's story surrounds the scars that have shaped him.
"This tattoo right here around my knee means perseverance," said Johnson.
Patience is a virtue for Johnson's story.
"His scars are some little war wounds," said Trish Johnson, Torii's mom.
The journey back to the court from those war wounds has been a long one... or two for Torii.
"When I first got my MRI, I was kind of in shock," said Torii said.
His first ACL tear happened towards the end of his freshman season.
"So went in for an MRI, and they were like, 'It's a complete tear,'" said Trish.
Hard work and rehab gave him the chance to return to the court, until a familiar feeling happened last season as a junior.
"My same knee," Torii said. "It was February 2nd of last basketball season."
"You could just see it, when he planted, something wasn't good," said Buffalo head coach Josh Ortmann.
"You know, I thought I was going to cry," said Trish.
A second torn ACL in as many seasons for Torii, who attacked rehab once again.
"I don't know if a high school kid could have handled it as well as Torii Johnson did," said Ortmann.
Over 300 days after his second tear, Torii returned to the starting lineup for his senior season earlier this winter.
"To see Torii every single day with a smile on his face, with a positive attitude, with a resolve inside of him, and to see what he's doing out on the court, it's pretty special right now," said Ortmann.
"We really want to get to the state tournament again, and really make a run at it, because we feel like we have the power to get there," said Torii.
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