Dion Waiters was the fourth player taken in the 2012 NBA draft. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

There is a lot of like about Dion Waiters. He brings a lot of toughness, having grown up in Philadelphia, and plays with an edge. Some NBA scouts believe Waiters will be a star at the pro level.

There is also a lot to dislike about Dion Waiters. He wasn’t a starter last season at Syracuse, doesn’t have great measurables, and didn’t play a lot of man-to-man defense in college because Jim Boeheim prefers the 2-3 zone.

You have to wonder what the Cleveland Cavaliers there thinking when they selected Waiters with the fourth overall pick in Thursday’s 2012 NBA draft. It was easily the most stunning move of the night given the recent history of Syracuse players in the Association.

Syracuse players in the Boeheim era are more likely to fizzle in the NBA than thrive. That is a proven fact. It happened to Dwayne “Pearl” Washington, it happened to Billy Owens, it happened to Lawrence Moten, it happened to Adrian Autry, and it happened to Gerry McNamara, it happened to Hakim Warrick, it happened to Jonny Flynn, and it happened to Wesley Johnson.

Flynn was the fifth overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves 2009 and it was THE WORST first-round pick that year. Flynn was a fish out of water and is now struggling to hook up with a team — any pro team. The Timberwolves obviously didn’t learn their lesson with Flynn because the follow year in 2010 they selected Wes Johnson, another first-round bust out of the Boeheim program.

There are a few exceptions. Derrick Coleman, Rony Seikaly and Sherman Douglas all had long, good NBA careers and Carmelo Anthony is one of the 15 best players in the league.

Waiters is hoping to have a long productive NBA career, and he seems to embrace the challenge. He is a good player and certainly deserves to go in the first round of the draft. But to be selected fourth overall is beyond surprising. Even Waiters was stunned he was picked that early.

“I’m very surprised. Top five. That’s every kid’s dream,” Waiters said. “I’m very thankful.”

Waiters said he had a tough time transitioning from high school to college because he never came off the bench until he got to Syracuse. He often clashed with Boeheim, but he says the “tough love” and made him into a better player.

The Cavs had a multitude of options with the No. 4 pick. They could have gone with Kansas’ Thomas Robinson, North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes, Connecticut’s Jeremy Lamb, or even Duke’s Austin Rivers. Talent-wise, Rivers may be the second-best player in the draft behind Anthony Davis and the Cavs would have had a lethal Duke-and-Duke combo with Rivers and Kyrie Irving.

Instead, general manager Chris Grant decided to roll the dice on a player who will have the added burden of being the fourth player taken in the 2012 draft.

Lou Williams scored 53 points in Saturday’s exhibition at Calvin Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C., featuring D.C.-area players against ballers from the Philadelphia area. Let me say that again . . . Lou Williams dropped 53 points in a game! I hope 76ers coach Doug Collins was watching because we may never see Sweet Lou score 50 points in a game. Maybe Collins should let Williams shoot more if/when the NBA lockout ends.

But to put Williams’ monster game into perspective, it was an EXHIBITION game where defense was like a turnstile, set plays were few and far between, and nobody took a charge in the paint. Sweet Lou may never have another game like this. Too bad he wasted it during a glorified pickup game.

WATCH HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PHILLY-D.C. GAME

The final score read 172-169 in favor of Williams’ squad that featured Philadelphia natives Tyreke Evans of the Sacramento Kings, Hakim Warrick of the Phoenix Suns, Kyle Lowry of the Houston Rockets, former New York Knick Mardy Collins, and Flip Murray (who now plays for Efes Pilsen in Turkey). The D.C.-based Goodman team featured Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant, Washington Wizards guard John Wall, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley, Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins, and Detroit Pistons forward Greg Monroe.

Durant matched Williams shot-for-shot, finishing with 56 points. At one point early in the fourth quarter, Williams swished two 3-pointers that prompted the public address announcer to yell “Lou Williams is on fire! He cannot be stopped!” Down three with 15 seconds left, Durant missed a deep three and Lowry iced the game at the foul line.

Depending on the lockout negotiations, more pickup games could be on the way. Memo to the players: Please end the lockout now!