Women's Fastbreak On SI

ESPN's Jay Bilas Teases Geno Auriemma in Comparing Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers

ESPN commentator Jay Bilas took a mild stance in the Caitlin Clark vs. Paige Bueckers debate.
Grant Young|
ESPN's Jay Bilas speaks during ESPN's 'College GameDay' broadcast ahead of No. 4 Tennessee's basketball game against No. 10 Texas at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Kns Ut Basketball College Gameday
ESPN's Jay Bilas speaks during ESPN's 'College GameDay' broadcast ahead of No. 4 Tennessee's basketball game against No. 10 Texas at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Kns Ut Basketball College Gameday | Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

A seemingly unending debate within the women's basketball world is whether Caitlin Clark or Paige Bueckers is the superior basketball player.

This argument started years ago, when Bueckers and Clark were two of the top four best players (along with Angel Reese and Cameron Brink) in the legendary 2020 NCAA recruiting class, according to ESPN.

Bueckers held the No. 1 spot while Clark was No. 4. And this debate only intensified after Clark and Bueckers ended up sharing the National Freshman of the Year Award during that 2020-21 season but Bueckers took home the Naismith Trophy (which is given to the best player in women's college basketball each season), making her the first freshman in NCAA history to do so.

Fast forward nearly four years and Bueckers is arguably the best player in college basketball while Clark is already a top-five player in the WNBA.

The topic of these two icons was brought up during ESPN's broadcast of the men's NCAA game between Michigan State and Kansas — and ESPN commentator Jay Bilas shared an interesting sentiment.

“I know one person that thinks that Paige Bueckers is better than Caitlin Clark was: Geno Auriemma,” Bilas said, per X user @nosyone4.

"Well, he’s got a vested interest in that,” added his broadcast partner Dan Schulman.

"[Bueckers] is spectacular," Bilas then said. "I wouldn't go so far as saying better, but she's going to be the force — her and JuJu Watkins at USC — the two forces and faces in the game."

It's hard to deny that Bilas is correct about that last take.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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