His dad's death took a toll, but mentality switch propels Sabien Cain to lead University

When Sabien Cain heard his mother scream in the middle of the night, finding out moments later that his father had died in the hospital, the 15-year-old’s first reaction was to punch a hole in his bedroom wall.

“What did he do to deserve this?” Cain remembers thinking. “I couldn’t see any reason why he had to die.”

Cecil Cain died Jan. 12, 2021, from kidney failure. He was 55. Sabien, the only son to Cecil and Vivian Cain, was heartbroken. His father placed a football in Sabien’s crib the day his son came home from the hospital and father and son maintained a close relationship over long talks to and from school, family vacations and Sabien’s basketball tournaments.

“He was the main one doing sports with me,” Sabien said. “Outside of sports, we were like best friends. We would joke around a lot, had a lot of inside jokes. He was a big guy, about 6-3, and could look mean and aggressive, but he was soft and kind.”

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Sabien was in the middle of his freshman year at University when his dad died. He had started out on the junior varsity basketball team, but moved up when it was apparent to coach Brandon Lafferman he could fill a role as a ballhandling guard that the team needed. Cecil Cain never really got a chance to see his son play in high school, though, as he was admitted to the hospital near the start of the season.

When his father died, Sabien was comforted at the funeral by many of his University teammates and classmates. His close friend and teammate, junior guard Robert Russell — “Big Shot Rob” Cecil Cain called him — never saw his friend skip a beat. He came back to practice and finished the season.

“His dad was the kind of dad any son needs and wants to have,” Russell said. “His dad was the only person who could really reach him when he needed somebody to reel him back in. He was a great father, really like a second dad to me whenever I was hanging with them.”

But quietly, and especially as he reflects on it now, Sabien knows he struggled. He leaned on his mom, and helped her, too. They spent time together, watching movies and eating dinner.

“And I kind of kept to myself,” the 6-2 Sabien said. “I wouldn’t recommend it because you keep thinking about it and it brings you down. I had people trying to lift me up, but I didn’t really want to talk to anybody. I wanted to keep to myself and just kind of used basketball to get away and play anytime I could.”

How Sabien Cain matures

Lafferman was immediately struck by Cain’s talent as a freshman, but also his ability to connect with all players in the program from the senior starters to the younger players who hardly play.

“It always seemed like a natural thing for him,” Lafferman said.

What concerned Lafferman was not his connection with his teammates or his basketball talent. Cain had a strong sophomore season, overcoming an ankle injury that caused him to miss several games early in the season to average 16.1 points and 2.7 assists on a 16-10 team that played for a Class 2A regional championship, losing to Eastern Hancock.

By all measures, it was a successful season. But Cain had a habit of letting his emotions get the best of him in a game. In the regional championship, Lafferman felt like his best player had not mentally prepared himself for that big moment. A few days after the game, he sat down with Cain and explained to him the biggest improvement he needed to make was his own mentality.

“We’ve always put five guys on the floor who were calm, cool and collected,” Lafferman said. “We were never going to beat ourselves. That was always my concern with Sabien. It was not even, ‘Can you handle a big moment?’ but ‘Can you handle any moment thrown your way?’” We were only going to be as good as Sabien could be.”

Looking back at that conversation now, Lafferman laughs. He did not really expect Cain to make a transformation in a matter of months. It is not easy for a teenager, especially one who lost his father and closest friend at 15. But he did.

“I’ve never seen such a transformation in someone mentally and emotionally than I have with him the last year,” Lafferman said. “He went to work this offseason, he’s grown up a lot. He’s become a leader. I’ve seen him pull guys aside who might not be having a great game and say something. That’s leadership. I’ve seen players going against him get more upset than the other way around. That’s maturity. Your best player can’t be a loose cannon or you aren’t going to be as successful as you can be.”

Cain, despite being the No. 1 target for every opponent on University’s schedule, is averaging 20.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 2.3 assists and shooting 57% from the field and 45% from the 3-point line (42-for-93). More impressive is University is ranked No. 5 in Class 2A and 18-1 after Tuesday's double overtime win over Westfield, in which Cain scored 36 points.

“As his closest friend, I’ve seen him lose a head a lot in the past,” Russell said. “Getting frustrated, getting mad. He’s really changed that. Once he changed his mentality, that helped his scoring. I’d say the biggest leap he’s made to me basketball-wise is the way he controls himself. He can score at all three levels, but that has really elevated his game.”

Proud of her son

Vivian Cain, who is the founder and executive director of Maria Montessori International Academy, worried about how Sabien was handling the grieving process after her husband died.

“I felt like he held it in for a full year,” Vivian said. “He pretty much camped out in his room most of the time when he wasn’t at school or basketball.”

She said a positive change happened when she was introduced to Derick Grant, a local basketball trainer. Sabien opened up to Grant. “Derick told him it was OK to release that emotion,” Vivian said. “The first time he cried publicly was with Derick.”

Vivian said the now 17-year-old Sabien is “the best I’ve ever seen him as far as handling growing into being a young man.” And while no one will ever replace his father, he does have another male figure in life in Anthony Carpenter, who travels with Vivian to every game for the past two seasons.

Sabien does not talk about his dad very often. Every once in a while, Lafferman will check in and ask how he’s doing. The answer is usually a short one, affirming he is OK.

“I’m sure there’s part of him that’s playing for his dad,” Lafferman said. “And I imagine that feels pretty good, considering how he’s doing.”

His dad always believed he would be that guard who could score at a high level. That has happened. But his growth and maturity — on and off the court — is even more noticeable.

“I think he’d be pretty proud,” Sabien said.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA basketball: Sabien Cain overcomes dad's death to lead University