The Celtics had three players targeted in the first round, and they got one of them in Purdue’s JaJuan Johnson. The Celtics also had the No. 55 selection, but the talent pool at that point was very shallow. With a strong 2012 draft class, there was speculation that the Celtics would try to trade the pick for one next year.

The Celtics drafted Purdue guard E'Twaun Moore with the No. 55 pick. (AP)

Instead, they chose Purdue shooting guard E’Twaun Moore. Moore, who like Johnson played four collegiate seasons under coach Matt Painter, averaged 18 points per game on 44.7 percent shooting his senior year with the Boilermakers. Moore is much more effective driving to the rim than spotting up on the perimeter. His outside stroke is something he’ll need to improve on if he wants to hang around in the association.

Celtics president Danny Ainge did not intentionally draft two players from the same school.

“No connection,” Ainge said when asked if the picks were related. “Just independently they were the best guys on the board for us when we were drafting. I didn’t even realize that we were picking two kids from Purdue until Doc was on the phone with JaJuan, and he had just heard that we drafted E’Twaun, and I think that made him more excited than the fact that he was drafted. That was just pure coincidence.”

Listed at 6-foot-4, 191 pounds, Moore will have a hard time matching up against some of the bigger shooting guards in the NBA. His skill set is geared to that of a shooting guard, so a transition to the point does not seem likely.

Ainge explained that Moore can make up for his lack of size with his length and a scoring ability evidenced by his 38-point performance in a win over No. 2 Ohio State. Moore drained seven 3-pointers in the game.

“He’s played strictly a 2, but he can handle the ball some,” Ainge said. “He’s a scorer. He’s only 6-3 but he’s extremely long, has long arms, terrific scorer.”

Ainge said both players will have a chance to compete for playing time next season.