“NBA part of it is gonna get him clowned”: Hoops analyst gives his two cents after George Karl claims JuJu Watkins to be better than Caitlin Clark
Sports Illustrated's host and basketball analyst Robin Lundberg gave his two cents on George Karl's claims about JuJu Watkins in his latest YouTube video. In an X update on Tuesday, Karl claimed that Watkins is a better overall player than NCAA all-time scoring leader Caitlin Clark. He added that Watkins' skills, athleticism and size make her talented enough to compete in the NBA "at some level."
Lundberg criticized George Karl by immediately pointing out his take on Watkins' NBA caliber.
"OK, couple things, one - the NBA part of it, it's gonna get him clowned," Robin Lundberg said (1:10). "Because biological differences between men and women, not to say that some of these women couldn't compete against men in certain formats, but we know she's not playing in the NBA. I guess it's what I want to say."
JuJu Watkins is coming off a record-breaking first college season, where she became the highest-scoring freshman in NCAA history with 920 points. She was also second on the Division I scoring leaderboard with 27.1 points, only behind Caitlin Clark's 31.6 ppg.
This season, Watkins reached the 1000-point mark in her career in her 38th game, two fewer outings than Clark. With that, it is expected that Watkins could overtake Clark as the all-time leader in NCAA scoring (men's and women's).
Robin Lundberg believes JuJu Watkins is not the best player in the current college basketball landscape
Lundberg confronted Karl's comparison of the Trojans guard to Caitlin Clark by claiming that JuJu Watkins is not even the best player in the current basketball season.
The analyst shed light on LSU Tigers' Flau'jae Johnson, Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, UConn's Paige Bueckers and UCLA Bruins' Lauren Betts, citing that they are having a better season than Watkins.
"We've heard this, 'before you know she's could be even better than Caitlin Clark,' she ain't better right now than her peers or at least one of them," Robin Lundberg said (1:25). "Hannah Hidalgo, to me, has been the best player in college basketball and I don't think it's particularly close.
"Then you look at Paige Beckers and I think her and JuJu have been on the same level. Flau'jae Johnson is playing at a high level. You got people who aren't even getting celebrated like what Lauren Betts is doing over for UCLA on the season. I could go on and on."
As per statistics, JuJu Watkins is having a better season than Paige Bueckers and Flau'jae Johnson. Johnson, who is having her best year, only overtakes Watkins in field goal and 3-point efficiency. Bueckers has been struggling with inconsistency in her scoring, whereas Watkins has only had one game below 20 points.
However, Watkins is overshadowed by Lauren Betts and Hannah Hidalgo when it comes to overall impact in winning. Betts is leading the Bruins to an undefeated 11-0 run, defeating the defending champions, the South Carolina Gamecocks, on the way.
Hidalgo is not only having a better scoring season than JuJu Watkins, but she also led Notre Dame past USC on Nov. 23.