BYU women's basketball: Kim Parker Beeston emerging as X-factor for Cougars

“It really stinks to sit out and not play,” Steed said. “It does give you a chance to evaluate yourself and the team. It’s a chance to look at things from a different perspective. But I think she used that redshirt year to become smarter and to learn Juddy’s system, which is a huge advantage really. To sit and learn his system and not use up a year of eligibility is huge. She was really determined coming back from that injury. It was one of those freak injuries that was really tough to come back from. I don’t think a lot of people know how hard it was and what it took for her to be able to come back from that. The team watching her battle through that and fight to come back was inspirational and we all gained tremendous respect for her.”

When it’s all said and done, the small-town family girl from Heber has two men in her life who represent her past and her future. Her role model and mainstay at home in her father, and she looks to embrace the future with her new husband as a teacher and coach after graduation.

“It’s actually been my dad, he’s been the one that’s pushed me my whole life to be the best, and he’s the one I’ve always wanted to talk to after the game. Now I’ve got my husband for that as well, but all growing up my dad was the one, he’s always been the one that’s had confidence in me but he would also tell me the things I needed to work on. I trust his opinion, he knows the game of basketball and he’s played the game, so I’ve always had a special relationship with him that way,” Beeston said.

“Leaving the competition is going to be hard. I plan to teach health education and hopefully coach high school basketball," she said. "Replacing that feeling will be tough for sure, but I enjoy teaching the game and hopefully I can find a way to share what I’ve learned here at BYU with young girls someday.”

Jonathan Boldt is a sports writing intern for the Deseret News covering the Utah Valley. He can be reached at jonboldt@gmail.com; follow him on Twitter @jboldt24 - www.boldted.com