Former Benet star Lenee Beaumont has always loved playing basketball, but she appreciates it even more these days.
Beaumont, a 6-foot-1 redshirt sophomore guard for Indiana, was on an upward path after averaging 9.6 minutes per game as a freshman for a team that reached the Sweet 16.
“Going into my sophomore year, I finally understood what I needed to be great and needed to improve in, and I just lived in the gym and the weight room,” she said. “I felt like I put myself in a really good position by the end of the summer to play a significant role.”
But during the last practice of the summer season, Beaumont suffered a noncontact injury to her left knee. She tried to play through it but was in constant pain. Doctors diagnosed a torn lateral medial meniscus with additional damage to cartilage behind the knee.
“The best way to explain it is it is like a pothole in your knee,” Beaumont said.
In December 2024, Dr. Brian Cole, who is the Chicago Bulls’ team surgeon, repaired Beaumont’s knee. He implanted a piece of cadaver cartilage from a teenager who had died.
“I was on a donor list, which is about a month’s process, and then you wait for the perfect match,” Beaumont said. “It had to be from someone younger than me, and I was very fortunate to have Dr. Cole in my corner. He’s phenomenal.”
Beaumont is grateful for the anonymous donor. The surgery was a success.
Beaumont’s father, Michael, attends nearly all of her games. He said her injury felt like “a gut punch.”
“I’m one of those guys that use an old-fashioned planner, and I had her whole schedule on my planner,” Michael Beaumont said. “As a parent, I’ve seen her get hurt, but not injured where she’s shut down like that, so it was a struggle having to watch her go through the surgery and sit on the bench.
“But I was impressed that as the season went on, she was always engaged. She would tell me every time she was able to advance to this next stage, whether it was shooting in a chair and then standing up and shooting. It reminds you of everything you appreciate when you can play, to be healthy and take care of yourself.”
Lenee Beaumont is healthy and thriving. In her first season starting for the Hoosiers (11-8), she’s averaging 13.3 points and 4.5 rebounds while making 42.1% of her 3-point shots and 89.3% of her free throws. She leads the team in assists with 58, is second in scoring and is third in rebounding.
“Obviously, I’m in a much better role now,” Beaumont said. “I’m extremely grateful for it.
“It’s been a lot of growing both as a leader and as a player. I have a better perspective on everything because I was over a year removed from the sport that I love.”
Beaumont’s college career is on a similar trajectory as her high school career. She led Benet to state trophies in her junior and senior years and was Ms. Basketball of Illinois as a senior.
“I thought all along she was going to have a great college career,” Benet coach Joe Kilbride said. “Obviously, her freshman year, they were one of the top teams in the country. She got limited minutes, which is not unusual for a freshman in a program like that.
“Sophomore year, she got hurt and missed the whole year. She’s worked her way back, and she feels good and is happy.”
Beaumont spoke with Kilbride and Benet boys basketball coach Gene Heidkamp during Christmas break. She said this season reminds her of her Benet days.
“I’m playing heavy minutes,” Beaumont said. “The last time I played 30-plus minutes was my senior year of high school, so it’s been a while.
“You’ve got to really work to get yourself in game shape for 40 minutes. It’s great to be fresh for 20 minutes, but how are you going to respond in the third quarter when you are a little bit fatigued but you’ve still got to be able to make shots and defend on the other end? That’s been something to adjust to.”
Beaumont, whose brother Brendan won a state championship with the Benet boys basketball team last season and is a freshman forward at Carroll University, has made that adjustment.
“I’m pretty pleasantly surprised by some of my performances,” she said. “I kind of felt like myself again, and that’s always great to feel because for the longest time I didn’t feel comfortable out there.
“I feel like I’m only scratching the surface, which is super exciting for me.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
