Yes, potential means nothing. I agree with that.

But the question was posed by the reporters....not Olson. All I think all he was saying is that he has the "chance" or "potential" to be better than the others.

And this is a true statement. He may not ever materialize into anything special. But it wouldn't mean he didn't have the potential to do so.

But yes, any comments based on potential aren't very meaningful, for the reasons you cited. I blame the reporters for that (and not Olson) because they are the ones who brought up the entire issue.