Colonie, N.Y. -- Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim responded bluntly to former Indiana coach Tom Crean's draft night criticism of forward Tyler Lydon.

"He's an idiot," Boeheim said. "He said he's not a good shooter. Freshman, sophomore year he shoots 40 percent from 3. That's pretty good for a young player. I think he had the best shooting statistics at the combine, I think, of all the big guys. He shoots it. That's what he does. It just shows the ignorance and not doing the work, the research, the background check. He's athletic and can do a lot of other things but he can really shoot."

Crean was critical of Lydon after the draft saying, "I don't think he's that good" and questioning Lydon's shooting and whether he could guard NBA players as a stretch-4.

Crean made his comments as part of an NBA Draft livestream with The Vertical, the media platform established by esteemed NBA reporter Adrian Wojanarowski. The draft night broadcast is popular because it runs ahead of the televised broadcast, and the website generally supplies a deep level of analysis, particularly when it comes to finances and transactions.

In this case, however, Boeheim believes the analysis from Crean was particularly poor.

As Boeheim noted, Lydon was the top shooting big at the NBA combine by a statistical margin. According to the NBA, he made less than 60 percent of his shots at just one of the 10 stations set up.

Among Crean's comments were the following: "The whole strength is supposed to be the shooting, things like. ... I think he plays hard, I think he tries hard, I don't think he's soft. But I don't think the shot is there. I don't think the mobility. Guys like him, who are they going to guard? And who are they going to separate from?"

Boeheim also appeared to take issue with comments from former Nets assistant general manager Bobby Marks that were made on the broadcast. Marks said he believed that playing the 2-3 zone in college was an obstacle to adjusting to playing defense in the NBA.

Boeheim pointed out Lydon as proof of SU's ability to develop players who aren't sure-fire NBA picks into guys that ultimately get drafted in the first round.

The Orange has the third-longest streak of consecutive drafts with a first-round pick, behind only Duke and Kentucky. While Syracuse recruits well, it doesn't land nearly as many ready-made pros.

"You go from being the 77th rated player out of high school and you're a Top 25 pick in the NBA Draft? That's a tribute to his work ethic and our program helping him," Boeheim said. "People always say, 'Well, they don't know if Syracuse players can play defense.' Here's a guy who was No. 77 and he's No. 24 in the Draft. Obviously the program helps players. It helped Tyler Ennis. It helped Michael Carter-Williams. It helped Malachi (Richardson). All those guys went way higher than people thought they were coming out of high school. Obviously the program helped get them there."

Boeheim spoke to the media as part of an appearance with SU Athletics' No-Huddle Tour. He noted that most players taken in the latter half of the first round need a combination of skill, work and opportunity to succeed in the NBA.

"He's good enough to play," Boeheim said. "Jerami Grant, I've felt was the most fortunate player we've had. Even though he landed No. 39, he had a place to play. Now his fourth year is coming up. It's getting an opportunity. Tyler Lydon is better than Grant at the same stage by a good margin. But will he get the opportunity? It's so much harder to make the NBA than people think it is. He's got the tools."

After seeing Crean's comments, a number of Syracuse fans quickly pointed out how befuddled Boeheim's 2-3 zone left Crean during the 2013 NCAA Tournament, when the Orange eliminated the top-seeded and more-talented Hoosiers on their way to to Final Four. Others noted that Indiana's highly ranked sophomore forward, Thomas Bryant, was picked in the second round.

Boeheim stuck to defending his program rather than biting at that easy fruit.

"Those guys and Jerami Grant are very good defensive players," Boeheim said. "We actually spend a lot of time in practice, as you know, playing man-to-man. That's what we do. But there's no question that Tyler Lydon can really shoot. That's not disputable by anybody."