Celtics ink draft class

Boston, MA – The Boston Celtics have signed draft picks Jared Sullinger, Fab Melo and Kris Joseph.

Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Sullinger was selected with the 21st overall pick of the NBA Draft and Melo was the very next choice in the first round. Joseph was taken in the second round with the 51st overall pick.

A 6-foot-9 forward from Ohio State, Sullinger was a projected lottery pick before a back injury scared some teams away. He was a First-Team All-Big Ten selection in each of his two seasons with the Buckeyes and averaged 17.5 points with 9.2 rebounds in 2011-12 to help Ohio State to the Final Four.

Melo and Joseph were teammates on a Syracuse team that lost to Ohio State in the East Regional final of the NCAA Tournament. Melo, though, did not play in the tournament because of an academic issue. The 7-foot native of Brazil was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year this past season, while Joseph played four years with the Orange and earned First-Team All-Big East honors as a senior when he averaged a team-best 13.4 points.