December 15, 2025 • 9 mins
This episode of IDKME breaks down how NC A&T and Howard's matchup inside Cameron Indoor Stadium wasn't just a game -- It was a quiet rematch of the very 1st MEAC Championship in 1972. We dig into why that original game was played at Duke of all places, and how B Daht returned to that same campus as an honorary co-captain. And with his co-captain, Dr. Anne Micheaux Akwari, being the widow of Duke's 1st ever Black surgeon, Dr. Ony Akwari standing beside him, the night became a full-circle moment of sports, medicine, and legacy intertwining.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome back Know It All to another episode of the
most anticipated podcast on the Black Effect Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Network, entitled I Didn't Know, Maybe you didn't either.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
I'm your host B dot aka Winston Salem State Universities
twenty twenty five, mister alumni, and I had a conversation
with my Queen, Denine Clark to put together our initiatives
that we want to implement during our reign that can
last forever. We've got four great pillars and we cannot
wait to share those. And we have a philanthropy project
(00:35):
that we'll be doing during homecoming, and we'll be sharing
all of that at the top of the year. And
if this is your first time listening to I Didn't Know,
Maybe you didn't either, Welcome know it All.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
We call the family around here know it All Again,
not because we know it all, but because we want
to know it all. That's why you listen to a
podcast that gives you all types of random facts and
a reminder. February first, we kicked off season five where
we share twenty eight black history facts that I didn't
know Maybe you didn't either, every single day in February.
(01:09):
Make sure you subscribe to the podcast on the Black
Effect Podcast Network, which is free on I Heart or
wherever you get your podcast from just search IDK myde. Now,
last week I got the opportunity of a lifetime in
a location that gives me hives as soon as I
walk into the building. But before I give you the
(01:30):
details on that, we start off this episode, as we
start off every episode, with three of the most useless
facts you will.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Never need, ever, not a day in life.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Your first useless facts, the very first ever MEAC basketball
championship in nineteen seventy two wasn't played at a MEAC school.
It was held at Duke University. Your second useless facts.
Cameron Indoor Stadium, which was built in nineteen forty is
one of the only major college arenas still using its
(02:03):
original wood bleachers.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
And your third useless facts.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
The Society of Black Academic Surgeons was born from a
nineteen eighty nine meeting that was organized by doctor Onier Aquari.
He brought together medical giants, including Howard University's legendary doctor
Lesal La Fall Junior.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Those have been your three useless facts.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
The very first MIAG basketball championship in nineteen seventy two
had to be held at Duke University because the Young
Conference needed a neutral court with TV ready facilities. Your
second useless fact, Cameron Indoor Stadium, or as I like
to call it, Tyler hansbro Indoor Stadium, was built in
nineteen forty and it's one of the only major college
(02:46):
arenas that still uses its original wood bleachers. And let
me tell you something, after sitting in those bleachers during
the Howard and Ant game this past week, my buttocks
can attest to the fact that them is the original
wood bleachers. And your third useless fact is the Society
of Black Academic Surgeons was born from a nineteen eighty
(03:06):
nine meeting organized by doctor Anye A.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Quarry.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Now, if you're a regular to the show or you
just know me personally you follow me on social media,
you're probably confused right now, like, dot what's all this
talk about Duke Cameron Indoor Stadium. Well, last week I
was the honorary captain for Howard as they faced and
T at Duke University. And when the general manager, Dan
Marx initially hit me and asked me would I be interested?
(03:34):
My first question was, why the hell is Howard playing
a T on the campus of Duke.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
That's random because I didn't know. I didn't know. I
didn't know. I didn't know. I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
I didn't know. I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Man, Tuesday Night inside Cameron Indoor wasn't just about basketball, man,
it was history on the electric slide, Baby Howard and
North Carolina A and T tipped off in a game
that you know, to most folks felt like a regular
season matchup just dropped in a legendary building. But in reality,
it was a rematch fifty three years in the making,
(04:14):
a callback to the very first MEAC Championship game that
was played in nineteen seventy two, a game that an
T won. It wasn't played at Howard, it wasn't played
at A and T. It would played at Duke University.
And I know you asking why Duke well case. Back then,
the MEACT was brand new. There were no arenas equipped
(04:34):
for broadcast, There were no neutral sites available, no ESPN
cameras pulling up El Sports Center wasn't even found it
for another seven years. Duke had the space, they had
the seeding, they had the technology. Plus they were willing
to host two HBCUs battling for a title at a time.
When that wasn't necessarily a given. So Howard and Ant
(04:57):
made history right there on Coach K's future hardwood before
anybody even knew that that spot would become holy ground.
And even as a Tarheel fan, I do recognize that
Cameron Indoor Stadium is basketball holy ground. Now fast forward
to this past Tuesday, December the ninth, twenty twenty five,
and your boy he died, is standing on that very
(05:20):
same floor. Not as a fan, of course, not not
as a player, not as someone pretending to be a
grad student so I could sneak into the student section, No,
none of that, but as the honorary captain for Howard University, y'all.
I gave a pregame speech. They was turned and I
told them straight up, it's only one team on the
(05:40):
court that's still record for Black conferences like the SIAC,
the SWACK, thee I DOUBLEA, and of course the Eastern
Athletic Conference.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
And that is Howard c at have ran off to
the CAA.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Huh, greener pastors, they think, remind them what it's like
to get belt in the MEAC.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Give them belt belt belt, belt belt.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Oh man. The players loved it. They went crazy. I
took the center court picture with the game ball man.
I stood there beside the coaches in line when they
did the national anthem and the Black national anthem. I
just soaked in the moment. But the real history was
when I walked in with my honorary co captain, doctor Anne,
miss Schouw a Quarry. She's the widow of doctor Onnyer Aquary,
(06:25):
and she got some great season tickets for the Duke
games too. She says, right across from the home bench.
That's not to hear no there, because the history is
about doctor Aye A Quarry. Let me get this man
his flowers. He was Nigerian American, a trailblazing general surgery,
master of surgical oncology. The man tried to cure cancers,
limit cancers, fight cancers, out smart cancers. My players were
(06:48):
out there trying to take someone's.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Heart on the court.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
He was across the street trying to save lives, one
incision at a time. He joined Duke's faculty one year
before I was born in nineteen seventy eight as the
first African American surgeon in the history of the School
of Medicine. And he didn't just operate, he elevated, he
opened doors, He made space. In nineteen eighty nine, he
organized that very first meeting of the Society of Black
(07:14):
Academic Surgeons. I was telling you about in the Three
Useless Facts. That was a room that included the legendary
doctor Lesalle Lafal Junior from Howard University. And Lsalle was
legendary from Tallahassee, Florida man. He got his bachelors from
a course FAMU and then he went to medical school
at Howard University. He the first African American president of
(07:35):
the American Cancer Society and the American College of Surgeons.
It was a big deal. So think about that man.
In nineteen seventy two, Howard and Ant battling on Duke's
floor for the very first ever me at Crown. And
in the late seventies and eighties, doctor Acquarie was battling cancer,
not in his own body, but in the bodies of
people who needed it. And then in twenty twenty five,
(07:57):
I'm standing next to his wife on the same representing
Howard watching another chapter connect and then Howard wins the
game seventy three sixty nine. Because history loves symmetry, I'm
undefeated as an honorary captain, baby, And because I grew
up in Greensboro, North Carolina, my dad's are Aggie, my
(08:17):
wife's an Aggie, tons of friends who are Aggie's. When
I walked in that gym repping for Howard, them Aggie
folks looked at me.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Like, really did Really?
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I said, y'all ain't never calling me to ask me
to be no honorary captain, But Howard did so. Now
there has been a reorder in my favorite HBCUs. First
Winston Salem State University, second Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University,
Third Howard University, the real HU, and fourth North Carolina
(08:47):
Anti State University. At this point, with all the hats
and nail y'all got, I'm about to call myself mister HBCU.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
B Dodds, mister HBCU.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Supporting all HBCUs use one event at a time, got
a nice ring to it. Look, man, most folks just
saw a basketball game Tuesday night. But anybody paying attention
to a moment layered with culture, medicine, legacy, HBCU excellence,
and a surgeon who spent his life cutting through more
(09:18):
than tumors. Doctor or Quarry cut through barriers, and that's
why that night mattered.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Because I didn't know. Maybe you didn't either,
Welcome back Know It All to another episode of the
most anticipated podcast on the Black Effect Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Network, entitled I Didn't Know, Maybe you didn't either.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
I'm your host B dot aka Winston Salem State Universities
twenty twenty five, mister alumni, and I had a conversation
with my Queen, Denine Clark to put together our initiatives
that we want to implement during our reign that can
last forever. We've got four great pillars and we cannot
wait to share those. And we have a philanthropy project
(00:35):
that we'll be doing during homecoming, and we'll be sharing
all of that at the top of the year. And
if this is your first time listening to I Didn't Know,
Maybe you didn't either, Welcome know it All.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
We call the family around here know it All Again,
not because we know it all, but because we want
to know it all. That's why you listen to a
podcast that gives you all types of random facts and
a reminder. February first, we kicked off season five where
we share twenty eight black history facts that I didn't
know Maybe you didn't either, every single day in February.
(01:09):
Make sure you subscribe to the podcast on the Black
Effect Podcast Network, which is free on I Heart or
wherever you get your podcast from just search IDK myde. Now,
last week I got the opportunity of a lifetime in
a location that gives me hives as soon as I
walk into the building. But before I give you the
(01:30):
details on that, we start off this episode, as we
start off every episode, with three of the most useless
facts you will.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Never need, ever, not a day in life.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Your first useless facts, the very first ever MEAC basketball
championship in nineteen seventy two wasn't played at a MEAC school.
It was held at Duke University. Your second useless facts.
Cameron Indoor Stadium, which was built in nineteen forty is
one of the only major college arenas still using its
(02:03):
original wood bleachers.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
And your third useless facts.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
The Society of Black Academic Surgeons was born from a
nineteen eighty nine meeting that was organized by doctor Onier Aquari.
He brought together medical giants, including Howard University's legendary doctor
Lesal La Fall Junior.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Those have been your three useless facts.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
The very first MIAG basketball championship in nineteen seventy two
had to be held at Duke University because the Young
Conference needed a neutral court with TV ready facilities. Your
second useless fact, Cameron Indoor Stadium, or as I like
to call it, Tyler hansbro Indoor Stadium, was built in
nineteen forty and it's one of the only major college
(02:46):
arenas that still uses its original wood bleachers. And let
me tell you something, after sitting in those bleachers during
the Howard and Ant game this past week, my buttocks
can attest to the fact that them is the original
wood bleachers. And your third useless fact is the Society
of Black Academic Surgeons was born from a nineteen eighty
(03:06):
nine meeting organized by doctor Anye A.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Quarry.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Now, if you're a regular to the show or you
just know me personally you follow me on social media,
you're probably confused right now, like, dot what's all this
talk about Duke Cameron Indoor Stadium. Well, last week I
was the honorary captain for Howard as they faced and
T at Duke University. And when the general manager, Dan
Marx initially hit me and asked me would I be interested?
(03:34):
My first question was, why the hell is Howard playing
a T on the campus of Duke.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
That's random because I didn't know. I didn't know. I
didn't know. I didn't know. I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
I didn't know. I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Man, Tuesday Night inside Cameron Indoor wasn't just about basketball, man,
it was history on the electric slide, Baby Howard and
North Carolina A and T tipped off in a game
that you know, to most folks felt like a regular
season matchup just dropped in a legendary building. But in reality,
it was a rematch fifty three years in the making,
(04:14):
a callback to the very first MEAC Championship game that
was played in nineteen seventy two, a game that an
T won. It wasn't played at Howard, it wasn't played
at A and T. It would played at Duke University.
And I know you asking why Duke well case. Back then,
the MEACT was brand new. There were no arenas equipped
(04:34):
for broadcast, There were no neutral sites available, no ESPN
cameras pulling up El Sports Center wasn't even found it
for another seven years. Duke had the space, they had
the seeding, they had the technology. Plus they were willing
to host two HBCUs battling for a title at a time.
When that wasn't necessarily a given. So Howard and Ant
(04:57):
made history right there on Coach K's future hardwood before
anybody even knew that that spot would become holy ground.
And even as a Tarheel fan, I do recognize that
Cameron Indoor Stadium is basketball holy ground. Now fast forward
to this past Tuesday, December the ninth, twenty twenty five,
and your boy he died, is standing on that very
(05:20):
same floor. Not as a fan, of course, not not
as a player, not as someone pretending to be a
grad student so I could sneak into the student section, No,
none of that, but as the honorary captain for Howard University, y'all.
I gave a pregame speech. They was turned and I
told them straight up, it's only one team on the
(05:40):
court that's still record for Black conferences like the SIAC,
the SWACK, thee I DOUBLEA, and of course the Eastern
Athletic Conference.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
And that is Howard c at have ran off to
the CAA.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Huh, greener pastors, they think, remind them what it's like
to get belt in the MEAC.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Give them belt belt belt, belt belt.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Oh man. The players loved it. They went crazy. I
took the center court picture with the game ball man.
I stood there beside the coaches in line when they
did the national anthem and the Black national anthem. I
just soaked in the moment. But the real history was
when I walked in with my honorary co captain, doctor Anne,
miss Schouw a Quarry. She's the widow of doctor Onnyer Aquary,
(06:25):
and she got some great season tickets for the Duke
games too. She says, right across from the home bench.
That's not to hear no there, because the history is
about doctor Aye A Quarry. Let me get this man
his flowers. He was Nigerian American, a trailblazing general surgery,
master of surgical oncology. The man tried to cure cancers,
limit cancers, fight cancers, out smart cancers. My players were
(06:48):
out there trying to take someone's.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Heart on the court.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
He was across the street trying to save lives, one
incision at a time. He joined Duke's faculty one year
before I was born in nineteen seventy eight as the
first African American surgeon in the history of the School
of Medicine. And he didn't just operate, he elevated, he
opened doors, He made space. In nineteen eighty nine, he
organized that very first meeting of the Society of Black
(07:14):
Academic Surgeons. I was telling you about in the Three
Useless Facts. That was a room that included the legendary
doctor Lesalle Lafal Junior from Howard University. And Lsalle was
legendary from Tallahassee, Florida man. He got his bachelors from
a course FAMU and then he went to medical school
at Howard University. He the first African American president of
(07:35):
the American Cancer Society and the American College of Surgeons.
It was a big deal. So think about that man.
In nineteen seventy two, Howard and Ant battling on Duke's
floor for the very first ever me at Crown. And
in the late seventies and eighties, doctor Acquarie was battling cancer,
not in his own body, but in the bodies of
people who needed it. And then in twenty twenty five,
(07:57):
I'm standing next to his wife on the same representing
Howard watching another chapter connect and then Howard wins the
game seventy three sixty nine. Because history loves symmetry, I'm
undefeated as an honorary captain, baby, And because I grew
up in Greensboro, North Carolina, my dad's are Aggie, my
(08:17):
wife's an Aggie, tons of friends who are Aggie's. When
I walked in that gym repping for Howard, them Aggie
folks looked at me.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Like, really did Really?
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I said, y'all ain't never calling me to ask me
to be no honorary captain, But Howard did so. Now
there has been a reorder in my favorite HBCUs. First
Winston Salem State University, second Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University,
Third Howard University, the real HU, and fourth North Carolina
(08:47):
Anti State University. At this point, with all the hats
and nail y'all got, I'm about to call myself mister HBCU.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
B Dodds, mister HBCU.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Supporting all HBCUs use one event at a time, got
a nice ring to it. Look, man, most folks just
saw a basketball game Tuesday night. But anybody paying attention
to a moment layered with culture, medicine, legacy, HBCU excellence,
and a surgeon who spent his life cutting through more
(09:18):
than tumors. Doctor or Quarry cut through barriers, and that's
why that night mattered.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Because I didn't know. Maybe you didn't either,
Host
Brian "B Daht" McLaughlin
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