I think this refers back to a number of athletes and a number of people in different professions who have struggled with these types of comparisons and living up to outsized expectations. When people say 'the next _____', they are referring to a person who has already gone through developmental struggles and failures and their own early mediocrity when no one was looking,and have then built a resume that is monumental. To be thrust into such comparisons during their own early struggles and failures can be a crushing weight. We see the comparisons everywhere and the 'failures' left in the wake of the comparisons.
On a Uconn level ... whoever follows Geno will be a failure because no one will live up to his legacy - as no one lived up to Wooden or Pat. And as no one has survived the 'next great American author' or the 'next Cary Grant' or the 'next _____.' The Jets have been looking for the 'next Joe Willie' for 50 years, the Pats will be looking for the 'next TB12' for decades, and those expectations have turned fan bases into killing machines.
In more recent times ... no one who says 'the next Diana' reflects on her 0fer in her first FF and Diana didn't have to face the world's expectations because she hadn't been labeled as the 'next Nykesha Sales' who played brilliantly as a freshman in winning a championship. And when they compare to Stewart, they aren't going to be saying they expect this new player to be benched in her first season, but are expecting the 2016 era Stewart in a HS senior.
While the comparison can be meant as a compliment, too often it also creates an expectation that is unlikely to be reached, and especially with young, unestablished talent can create negative comparisons when a disappointing product is put out. While Paige had a phenomenal year, she failed to match Stewart's results - while everyone is giving Paige a pass because she was NPOY after all, I think the rest of the team has taken additional criticism for not being 'good enough' in a way that 2001 and DT and the task force didn't - they had the excuse of injuries of course, but the remaining team had 4 Olympians and two #1, a #2, #4, and #6 WNBA picks.
I understand the desire to compare skill sets, and I don't tend to comment, but I do think the above is worth thinking about before putting too much pressure on kids.