David Haugh of 670 The Score in Chicago discussed ESPN’s Jay Williams saying he was “unwilling…to say that she is great yet” about Iowa’s Caitlin Clark. Late last week, Clark moved into first place on the all-time NCAA Division I women’s college basketball scoring list.
Over the weekend on College GameDay, Williams said, “I think the way she plays, the pizzazz, is, she’s probably the most prolific scorer the game of basketball has ever seen.” Williams said, while comparing her to Steph Curry. “I am unwilling … to say that she is great yet.”
“I’m not saying that she’s not at a high, high, high level,” Williams continued, “but for it to go to the states of immortality in my opinion, it has to culminate with your team winning a championship.”
Haugh did not think Williams had much of a leg to stand on with this opinion. “When you express your opinion for a living, I don’t feel comfortable always criticizing people for just the opinions they have,” he said, “because I do think it’s fair game and it’s not wrong, and it’s just somebody’s opinion. If they can support it, I think you respect that professionally and you don’t want to get personal. This to me though was so offensive that I think he deserves to be called out.”
Haugh said he disagreed with anyone who says athletes need to win a championship before you can call them great. He cited the usual names that come up in this particular conversation such as Charles Barkley, Dan Marino and Ernie Banks.
“I don’t know what it is about Caitlin Clark that [Williams] finds so difficult to embrace, but there is greatness in everything that she has done. There’s greatness in the way she has advanced her sport, there is greatness in the way that she has provided attention and created revenue for her school, for her state, for her own career.
“The fact that Jay Williams has to qualify it, says there’s something wrong with him, not her. It says there must be some sort of mental block with him, I dont know what it is but it’s stark and it’s bothersome and it’s really really bad. He can do better…and this was really terrible to see somebody paid for his opinion, respected in the profession, come up this short and be this wrong and this dumb on something like this.”
Leila Rahimi, filling in for Mike Mulligan, added that she was surprised with Williams’ take and said, “I don’t know how you judge Caitlin Clark’s greatness on something that requires other people when we see the numbers that she has put up. I don’t even know why this is still a discussion.”
