Royals hoops talent prepares for future roles and improvement

Anthony Davis, junior, gets to school at five o’clock in the morning, so he can get in his early morning hoop sesh.

“I work on my ball handling and I do a lot of shooting drills, I take about 500 shots a day after my workout,” Davis said.

Davis has been playing basketball since he was four years old. He tries to be himself on the court and separates himself from everyone else with his skill.

Davis, as well as Joe Hedstrom, junior, and Blaise Beauchamp, freshman, have helped out the Royals boys basketball team a lot this past year. They have gotten an increase in playing time which has helped the Royals to a 23-6  record.

Hedstrom had been working hard in and out of practice on his low post game this past year and will look to continue it next year.

“It’s hard to workout during the season because of practice and school work, but I try to just get shots in when I can and hit the weight room at least twice a week,” Hedstrom added, “I will try and get a lot of work in during the offseason.

Hedstrom began to play basketball when he was seven years old. He was able to get an increase in playing time from last year by working as hard as he could. He would try to get noticed in practice by the coach.

A big surprise player this year was Beauchamp. Being a freshman no one expected him to be this big of an asset to the team.

Beauchamp’s biggest area of improvement this past year has been improving his defensive game and getting more confidence on the court.

“During the season, I try to lift weights whenever I can and work on getting stronger to help my defense,” Beauchamp said.

Beauchamp has been playing basketball since he was 6 years old. He is very good at overcoming his struggles during a game and puts in a lot of work even in the offseason.

This last season Beauchamp, Davis and Hedstrom averaged 11.8, 11.5 and 8.6 points per game, respectively. All three of them were starters at some point of the year; they went through a lot to get where they are. All of them have a strong work ethic and a positive attitude.

Hedstrom and Beauchamp both try to not let any negative thoughts get to them while they play.

“When you get down, it starts to affect the whole team, you gotta keep your head up and have a short-term memory with those things,” Hedstrom said.

“I have to have a short memory during games and I always have to be confident. When I miss a shot, I tell myself I will make the next one, confidence is key,” Beauchamp said.

With the Royals failing to make it back to the Target Center this last season, these three guys will hopefully turn that around next season. Finally, they will try to bring home another state championship. Before that happens, the three of them have work to do.

Davis is a very hard worker but admits he has improvements he could make.

“I have to be more of a leader and always be talking to my teammates on the court,” Davis said.

Hedstrom likes his play, but says he needs to keep his game inside out and not outside in. He needs to focus more on work in the paint than outside of it.

Beauchamp wants to continue to hit the weight room when he can and keep getting in reps in and out of practice.