Purdue ended a 17-year first-round drought in the NBA draft. Butler had a player taken for a record-breaking second consecutive season.
The Pacers even brought George Hill back to Indianapolis.
For the state of Indiana, it was another big draft night.
All-American JaJuan Johnson and Purdue teammate E’Twaun Moore both wound up in Boston. Johnson went No. 27 overall to New Jersey, then was traded to Boston, extending the state streak to six consecutive years with a first-round pick. Johnson is also the first Purdue player to go that high since Glenn Robinson went No. 1 overall in 1994.
“I am loving the celtics right now!!” college teammate Robbie Hummel wrote on Twitter after Moore was taken 55th overall by the Celtics late Thursday.
A torn ACL is forcing Hummel to wait another year to see if he’ll be the next Boilermaker drafted.
The 6-foot-10 Johnson was considered the state’s highest-rated player going into the draft after becoming only the third player in Big Ten history to win the player of the year award and the defensive player of the year award in the same season.
Still, there were plenty of surprises Thursday.
Twenty-eight picks after Johnson’s name was called, the Celtics took Moore, the shooting guard from Purdue. The choice means Johnson and Moore could continue to play together after traveling an almost identical career path.
Johnson and Moore both declared for the draft after their junior seasons, then both decided to return for their senior seasons and are now going to be reunited with one of the league’s marquee franchises — pending the looming lockout.
In between those picks, Butler junior Shelvin Mack, who was projected by some to go deep in the second round, was taken 34th overall by the Washington Wizards.
He’ll join a young nucleus led by last year’s No. 1 pick, John Wall, and two more first-round picks — forwards Jan Vesely from Croatia and Chris Singleton from Florida State.
Mack, a 6-3 shooting guard, may not have to make the move some expected, to point guard, with Wall already running the show, and that could help him adjust.
A year ago, Gordon Hayward become the first Butler player ever taken in the first round of the modern draft. Mack becomes the second player drafted in two seasons — a first for the school with back-to-back national runner-up finishes.
Several draft hopefuls from around the state were left out Thursday night. That list included Butler forward Matt Howard, Indiana State guard Jake Kelly, Bradley swingman Andrew Warren, who played prep ball in Indy, and Notre Dame guard Ben Hansbrough, the Big East player of the year and brother of Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough.
But the Pacers pulled the biggest surprise of the night.
Shortly after choosing San Diego State star Kawhi Leonard with the No. 15 selection, word leaked that the Pacers had dealt Leonard to San Antonio for the guy who got away from them in 2008 — Hill.
Hours later, the trade was finally confirmed from the podium in Newark, N.J.
Hill, a combination guard, played high school ball in the city and college ball just a few miles away from Conseco Fieldhouse at IUPUI. The move gives Indiana an opportunity to build on last season’s success with a hometown kid who could help draw fans back to an arena that once hosted regular sellouts.
“George Hill is a good NBA player, first of all and it helps that he’s from here,” Pacers president Larry Bird said. “But we didn’t trade for him because he’s from Indianapolis. We traded for him because he’s a good player.”
Draft selections
Atlanta Hawks
2 (48) Keith Benson, c, Oakland (Mich.).
Boston Celtics
1 (27) JaJuan Johnson, f, Purdue (acquired from New Jersey).
2 (55) E’Twaun Moore, g, Purdue.
Charlotte Bobcats
1 (7) Bismack Biyombo, f, Fuenlabrada (acquired from Sacramento).
1 (9) Kemba Walker, g, Connecticut.
Chicago Bulls
1 (30) Jimmy Butler, f, Marquette.
p-1 (23) Nikola Mirotic, f, Real Madrid (Spain), (acquired from Minnesota through Houston).
Cleveland Cavaliers
1 (1) Kyrie Irving, g, Duke.
1 (4) Tristan Thompson, f, Texas.
2 (54) Milan Macvan, f, Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel).
Dallas Mavericks
None.
Denver Nuggets
1 (22) Kenneth Faried, f, Morehead State.
p-1 (26) Jordan Hamilton, f, Texas (acquired from Dallas).
Detroit Pistons
1 (8) Brandon Knight, g, Kentucky.
2 (33) Kyle Singler, f, Duke.
2 (52) Vernon Macklin, f, Florida.
Golden State Warriors
1 (11) Klay Thompson, g, Washington State.
2 (39) Jeremy Tyler, f-c, Tokyo Apache (acquired from Charlotte).
2 (44) Charles Jenkins, g, Hofstra.
Houston Rockets
1 (14) Marcus Morris, f, Kansas.
p-1 (20) Donatas Motiejunas, f, Benetton Treviso (Italy), (acquired from Minnesota).
p-1 (23) Nikola Mirotic, f, Real Madrid (Spain), (acquired from Minnesota through Houston).
p-2 (43) Malcolm Lee, g, UCLA (acquired from Chicago).
Indiana Pacers
None.
L.A. Clippers
2 (37) Trey Thompkins, f, Georgia.
2 (47) Travis Leslie, g, Georgia.
L.A. Lakers
2 (41) Darius Morris, g, Michigan.
2 (46) Andrew Goudelock, g, Colllege of Charleston.
2 (56) Chukwudiebere Maduabum, f, Bakersfield (NABDL).
Memphis Grizzlies
2 (49) Josh Selby, g, Kansas.
Miami Heat
1 (28) Norris Cole, g, Cleveland State (acquired from Minnesota through Chicago).
Milwaukee Bucks
1 (19) Tobias Harris, f, Tennessee (acquired from Charlotte).
2 (40) Jon Leuer, f, Wisconsin.
Minnesota Timberwolves
1 (2) Derrick Williams, f, Arizona.
p-1 (23) Nikola Mirotic, f, Real Madrid (Spain), (acquired from Houston).
p-2 (31) Bojan Bogdanovic, g, Bosnia (Croatia), (acquired from Miami).
p-2 (38) Chandler Parsons, f, Florida (acquired from Houston).
New Jersey Nets
1 (25) Marshon Brooks, g, Providence (acquired from Boston).
2 (36) Jordan Williams, f, Maryland.
New York Knicks
1 (17) Iman Shumpert, g, Georgia Tech.
2 (45) Josh Harrellson, c, Kentucky (acquired from New Orleans).
Oklahoma City Thunder
1 (24) Reggie Jackson, g, Boston College.
Orlando Magic
2 (32) Justin Harper, f, Richmond (acquired from Cleveland).
2 (53) DeAndre Liggins, g, Kentucky.
Philadelphia 76ers
1 (16) Nikola Vucevic, c, Southern Cal.
2 (50) Lavoy Allen, f, Temple.
Phoenix Suns
1 (13) Markieff Morris, f, Kansas.
Portland Trail Blazers
1 (21) Nolan Smith, g, Duke.
2 (51) John Diebler, g, Ohio State.
p-2 (57) Tanguy Ngombo, f, Qatar (acquired from Dallas).
Sacramento Kings
1 (10) Jimmer Fredette, g, BYU (acquired from Milwaukee).
2 (35) Tyler Honeycutt, f, UCLA.
2 (60) Isaiah Thomas, g, Washington.
San Antonio Spurs
1 (15) Kawhi Leonard, f, San Diego State (acquired from Indiana).
1 (29) Cory Joseph, g, Texas.
2 (42) Davis Bertans, F, Union Olimpija (Slovenia) (acquired from Indiana).
2 (59) Adam Hanga, g, Budapest (Hungary).
Toronto Raptors
1 (5) Jonas Valanciunas, c, Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania).
Utah Jazz
1 (3) Enes Kanter, c, Kentucky/Fenerbahce Ulker (Turkey).
1 (12) Alec Burks, g, Colorado.
Washington Wizards
1 (6) Jan Vesely, f, Partizan Belgrade
1 (18) Chris Singleton, f, Florida State.
2 (34) Shelvin Mack, g, Butler.
