That is telling about both Kubrick and Lucas. We expect professionals to admire their betters, but are surprised learn the other way around.

A search for "kubrick" "lucas" "admire" (in any order) brings up hits on ... Stanley Kubrick.

“If I made as much money as George Lucas, I would not decide to become a studio mogul. I cannot understand why he doesn’t want to direct films anymore, because American Graffiti and even Star Wars were very good.” -Stanley Kubrick, IMDb - Stanley Kubrick's All Time Favorite Films

Lucas describes 2001: A Space Odyssey as "hugely inspirational" and Stanley Kubrick as "the filmmaker's filmmaker". (Wikipedia: 2001: A Space Odyssey (film) )

Even they know who is who ...