It was just after 9 p.m. on a cold Tuesday night in late November when Maria Thompson, a 58-year-old janitor who’s been scrubbing the floors and emptying the trash cans at Cameron Indoor Stadium for 19 years, heard the hiss of air escaping from a tire.
She was walking to her beat-up 2008 Corolla in the employees’ lot behind the stadium when she spotted a sleek black Range Rover pulled over on the side of the service road, hazard lights blinking. A tall kid in a Duke hoodie was crouched by the rear wheel, phone flashlight in one hand, looking completely lost.
That kid was Cameron Boozer — the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2025, son of Carlos Boozer, and the humble superstar who’d already broken Duke records as a freshman.
“Ma’am, do you know how to change a flat?” he asked, half-embarrassed.
Maria laughed. “Baby, I’ve been changing flats since before you were born.”
Twenty minutes later, with Maria doing most of the work while Cameron held the flashlight and handed her tools, the spare was on. His hands were clean; hers were black with grease. He kept saying “thank you” over and over, like he couldn’t believe someone would stop.
“You don’t owe me nothing,” Maria told him as she wiped her hands on an old rag. “Just keep making us proud in that jersey.”
Cameron smiled that shy smile that’s already become famous on campus. “Yes, ma’am. I won’t forget this.”
She thought that was the end of it.
The next afternoon, Maria was in her tiny two-bedroom rental on the east side of Durham, heating up leftover beans for dinner, when she heard tires crunching gravel outside.
She peeked through the blinds and saw a gleaming white Cadillac Escalade parked in her cracked driveway. Out stepped Cameron Boozer — in Duke sweats again — along with his twin brother Cayden, their dad Carlos, and Coach Jon Scheyer.
Maria opened the door, confused.
Cameron walked up holding a set of keys.
“Miss Maria,” he said, “this is for you.”
He pointed to the SUV. Then he handed her an envelope.
Inside was a cashier’s check for $75,000 and a handwritten note
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