Basketball: Beckmann rebounds from surgery to help Pea Ridge

PEA RIDGE -- When Bryce Beckmann is working on his game alone in the gym, he thinks twice about going up for a slam dunk.

Such a move ended his junior season and nearly derailed the 6-foot-5, 195-pound Pea Ridge senior's high school career altogether.

A year ago, as the season was winding down, Beckmann, who'd had hernia surgery before the season, was alone in the gym, practicing his shooting. The rest of the Pea Ridge players were in the adjourning weight room lifting.

"I was dunking after practice, and I came down on one leg," he said. "It gave out for a second."

Beckmann's mind started to race. Pea Ridge had just a few games left in the regular season, and the Blackhawks had their sights set on going to the Class 4A State Tournament. Immediately he knew the pain was a bad sign, but he wouldn't find out how serious it was until later.

"I kind of thought, 'I shouldn't have been doing this,'" Beckmann said. "I was the only one in the gym at the time, and I was wondering where everyone was at."

Pea Ridge coach Trent Loyd quickly looked at Beckmann's knee and said he initially didn't fear the worst.

"I thought the first day it was just a tweak," Loyd said.

The next day Beckmann's knee swelled up, and the thought was it was a partially torn ligament. Loyd knew his initial assumption of a tweak was wrong.

Beckmann sat out the next six weeks, missing the Blackhawks' postseason. But as summer workouts began, the pain in the knee got worse, and the family sought medical attention to see what was causing the pain to linger.

"I went to the doctor one day because it hurt ... (ACL) was completely torn," Beckmann said. "I wish I had the surgery earlier."

The knee was repaired July 10, several months after the initial injury.

Loyd began to think about when Beckmann could return to a promising Pea Ridge team, knowing the recovery from ACL surgery can take a long time. Loyd was just hoping to get him back by the end of the season.

"I was thinking there was a chance in January or February," Loyd said.

Beckmann was determined to return to the court earlier than that, and he set a goal for the start of 4A-1 Conference play in December. He started working out and doing agility drills, and Loyd was astounded by the rapid progress being made. Beckmann made his first appearance on the court against Lincoln on Dec. 17.

"He came back way ahead of schedule," Loyd said. "He worked hard every day. He would have an hour workout and then just a knee rehab. I don't think I have seen anyone work harder coming back from an ACL surgery."

Beckmann is now back to full speed, and that is paying big dividends for the Blackhawks. Pea Ridge (18-3, 8-1) is atop the 4A-1 Conference standings, tied with Huntsville, a team the Blackhawks beat earlier this season. Beckmann is averaging seven points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots a game.

"You can see the explosion is coming back now," Loyd said. "I was watching film of his first game back; you could tell the body wasn't back yet to play a full game. Against Gentry last week, he just dominated when he came in. It was that explosion of finishing, getting rebounds and blocking shots.

"He is definitely back, and when he is back like this, it helps our team in many ways. He has the height and the body to create post moves down low. He brings a lot to the table for us."

Beckmann is the lone senior on the team, but he said he is just one of many leaders on the squad.

"We are all leaders, and we can all take control," Beckmann said. "We make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to do to prepare for games."

Loyd said Beckmann's leadership really showed during the rehab process.

"Bryce proved his leadership in the fall when he was working as hard as he was," Loyd said. "He showed everybody that this is how bad I want to get back and be playing with you.

"They all respect him because they see how hard he works."

Sports on 01/28/2016