Cedar Rapids Jefferson senior Tyler Hemphill treats the brace he wears on his left knee like an old friend.

He couldn't play without it.

Hemphill tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee during an AAU tournament last summer, but elected to postpone surgery until after the 2011-12 high school campaign was over.

His doctor left it up to him.

"He said it was my choice," Hemphill related. "If I play with a brace I would be like 50 percent, and if I keep rehabbing it will get better.

"If I have surgery, then I'll probably be out for half and maybe the whole season, depending on how my rehab goes. I didn't want to leave it up to that."

Basketball players rarely play with a torn ACL, especially an entire season, but Hemphill is one of those rare exceptions. He's played in all 23 games for Jefferson and helped the J-Hawks reach the Class 4A state tournament.

Jefferson (15-8) will face top-ranked Ankeny (23-0) in the quarterfinals at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Hemphill is averaging 7.4 points and 4.1 rebounds for the J-Hawks. He scored in double figures only once during the first 12 games of the season, but has done it six times in the last 11 games as his knee got stronger.

"Right now I'm probably 75 percent," he said. "I just play with a lot of heart and intensity, because I know the guys need me out there."

Hemphill tallied 12 points and hit two crucial 3-pointers in the fourth quarter last Tuesday when Jefferson upset No. 3 Cedar Falls, 67-65, in overtime to win the substate title and earn a spot in the 4A state tournament.

"He plays with a lot of courage and emotion. And I respect that," said Jefferson Coach Stu Ordman.

There were times this season when it appeared Hemphill was frustrated on the court, and as a result he may have neglected to play his hardest or get back on defense. At times, that earned him a brief meeting with Ordman or a seat on the bench.

"Sometimes it's difficult to determine if he's taking a possession off and coasting because he's protecting his leg and his knee, or he's just coasting," said Ordman.

This has been a tough year for ACL injuries in the Metro area. Shanice Cheatham of Linn-Mar, Madison Dellamuth of Prairie and Tasha Roundtree of Washington all suffered torn ACL's and had to stop playing. University of Iowa junior Jaime Printy, a Linn-Mar grad, also suffered a torn ACL and was knocked out of action.

Hemphill was fortunate, if that's the right word, to suffer his injury last summer, several months before the high school season began.

"He was very disappointed at first," said Ordman. "What I told him, if you have reconstruction, it was highly likely you would miss the entire season, so this way (postponing surgery) at least you have a chance."

Hemphill was willing to endure the pain and wear a knee brace so he could play ball this season. "A little icing," he said, "and resting it a lot."

"I just learned to play with the brace and with my knee like this," he said. "I can't be as explosive sometimes, but I've just learned to deal with it now."

Hemphill was a happy guy after helping the J-Hawks topple Cedar Falls and cash their ticket to Des Moines.

"I feel great," he said. "Man, it's been a great week for us after we won. Everybody doubted us, but we knew we could pull it off. Once we did, it feels great to go to state."

Hemphill plans to have surgery a couple of weeks after the state tournament. He wants to get healthy and play basketball in college next season. Right now, he's focused on trying to beat No. 1 Ankeny on Wednesday.

"It's going to be a tough challenge for us, but we're up for anything," he said. "People doubt us a lot, but as a team we know we can go out there and get an upset."